Embryonic brain precursors transplanted into kainate lesioned rat spinal cord.
Embryonic day 14 rat cerebral cortex-derived precursors were expanded with FGF2 and labeled with BrdU prior to being transplanted into the kainic acid-lesioned adult rat spinal cord. While these precursors give rise to cells with neuronal, astrocytic and oligodendroglial phenotypes vitro, they remained largely undifferentiated up to 12 weeks in vivo. Numerous BrdU-labeled cells were found in injured gray matter, and also lining the dilated central canal that sometimes accompanies these lesions. BrdU-labeled cells never co-expressed Map2ab, rarely co-expressed GFAP but often co-expressed nestin, even after 12 weeks in vivo. These observations suggest that the environment of the kainic acid-injured spinal cord is not hostile to transplanted embryonic cerebral cortex-derived precursors, but also is not conducive to their neuronal differentation.
Magnuson
D S
DS
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY 40202, USA.
Zhang
Y P
YP
Cao
Q L
QL
Han
Y
Y
Burke
D A
DA
Whittemore
S R
SR
D000818:Animals; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology*; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology; D007608:Kainic Acid; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*
D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D007608:Kainic Acid