Potential existence of stem cells with multiple differentiation abilities to three different germ lineages in mouse neurospheres.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are tissue-specific stem cells with self-renewal potential in brain, and are committed cells of the central nervous system. Recently, some reports have suggested the possibility of the NSCs to differentiate into non-CNS mesodermal derivatives, such as blood cells and skeletal muscle cells. Here we isolated NSCs as neurospheres from a neonatal mouse brain using serum replacement medium, and demonstrated that the stem cell population expressing pluripotent-related genes such as Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog possess multiple differentiation potentials to ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal lineages, that is, some neural cells, beating cardiomyocytes, adipocytes, and insulin-producing cells. The results of the present study partly provide further evidence for multiple differentiation properties of NSCs and suggest common characteristics between NSCs and other pluripotent stem cells.
Takehara
Toshiyuki
T
Graduate School of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kinki University, Nishimitani, Kinokawa, Wakayama, Japan.
Teramura
Takeshi
T
Onodera
Yuta
Y
Kishigami
Satoshi
S
Matsumoto
Kazuya
K
Saeki
Kazuhiro
K
Fukuda
Kanji
K
Hosoi
Yoshihiko
Y
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; D007328:Insulin