title: Adult human spinal cord harbors neural precursor cells that generate neurons and glial cells in vitro.
abstract: Adult human and rodent brains contain neural stem and progenitor cells, and the presence of neural stem cells in the adult rodent spinal cord has also been described. Here, using electron microscopy, expression of neural precursor cell markers, and cell culture, we investigated whether neural precursor cells are also present in adult human spinal cord. In well-preserved nonpathological post-mortem human adult spinal cord, nestin, Sox2, GFAP, CD15, Nkx6.1, and PSA-NCAM were found to be expressed heterogeneously by cells located around the central canal. Ultrastructural analysis revealed the existence of immature cells close to the ependymal cells, which display characteristics of type B and C cells found in the adult rodent brain subventricular region, which are considered to be stem and progenitor cells, respectively. Completely dissociated spinal cord cells reproducibly formed Sox2(+) nestin(+) neurospheres containing proliferative precursor cells. On differentiation, these generate glial cells and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic neurons. These results provide the first evidence for the existence in the adult human spinal cord of neural precursors with the potential to differentiate into neurons and glia. They represent a major interest for endogenous regeneration of spinal cord after trauma and in degenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U583, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dromard
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guillon
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rigau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ripoll
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Sabourin
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scamps
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bozza
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sabatier
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lonjon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duffau
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vachiery-Lahaye
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prieto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tran Van Ba
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deleyrolle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boularan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Langley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaviria
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Privat
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hugnot
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bauchet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001926:Brain Death; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D014019:Tissue Donors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins