title: Generation of neural stem cell-like cells from bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Under appropriate culture conditions, bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells are capable of differentiating into diverse cell types unrelated to their phenotypical embryonic origin, including neural cells. Here, we report the successful generation of neural  stem cell (NSC)-like cells from BM-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Initially, hMSCs were cultivated in a conditioned medium of human neural stem cells. In this culture system, hMSCs were induced to become NSC-like cells, which proliferate in neurosphere-like structures and express  early NSC markers. Like central nervous system-derived NSCs, these BM-derived NSC-like cells were able to differentiate into cells expressing neural markers for neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Whole-cell patch clamp recording revealed that neuron-like cells, differentiated from  NSC-like cells, exhibited electrophysiological properties of neurons, including action potentials. Transplantation of NSC-like cells into mouse brain confirmed that these NSC-like cells retained their capability to differentiate into neuronal and glial cells in vivo. Our data show that  multipotent NSC-like cells can be efficiently produced from BM-derived hMSCs in culture and that these cells may serve as a useful alternative to human neural stem cells for potential clinical applications such as autologous neuroreplacement therapies.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D061251:Primary Cell Culture