Neurosphere-derived neural cells show region-specific behaviour in vitro.
Neurosphere cultures provide a useful model to study neural stem/progenitor cells (NSC/NPCs). The degree to which neurospheres (NS) retain their regional identity in vitro has, however, been questioned. Here, NS obtained from mouse embryonic cortex, striatum or spinal cord were compared after differentiation. Neurons from cortical NS formed well ordered clusters containing astrocytes, those from striatal NS formed an external ring at the borderof the astrocyte layer, whereas those from spinal cord NS spread radially like the astrocytes. Such in-vitro neural behaviour was region-specific and persisted in clonal conditions, providing evidence of the maintenance of positional cues in NS cultures.
Armando
Sylvain
S
Laboratory of Pathophysiology and Therapies of Sensory Deficits, Institute for Neuroscience of Montpellier, INSERM U583, St-Eloi Hospital, 34091 Montpellier cedex 05, France.
Lebrun
Aurore
A
Hugnot
Jean-Philippe
JP
Ripoll
Chantal
C
Saunier
Monique
M
Simonneau
Lionel
L
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D002999:Clone Cells; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology