Brain mesenchymal stem cells: The other stem cells of the brain?
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), have the potential to differentiate into cells of the mesenchymal lineage and have non-progenitor functions including immunomodulation. The demonstration that MSCs are perivascular cells found in almost all adult tissues raises fascinating perspectives on their role in tissue maintenance and repair. However, some controversies about the physiological role of the perivascular MSCs residing outside the bone marrow and on their therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine exist. In brain, perivascular MSCs like pericytes and adventitial cells, could constitute another stem cell population distinct to the neural stem cell pool. The demonstration of the neuronal potential of MSCs requires stringent criteria including morphological changes, the demonstration of neural biomarkers expression, electrophysiological recordings, and the absence of cell fusion. The recent finding that brain cancer stem cells can transdifferentiate into pericytes is another facet of the plasticity of these cells. It suggests that the perversion of the stem cell potential of pericytes might play an even unsuspected role in cancer formation and tumor progression.
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Florence
F
Appaix
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Marie-France
MF
Nissou
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Boudewijn
B
van der Sanden
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Matthieu
M
Dreyfus
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
François
F
Berger
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Jean-Paul
JP
Issartel
Florence Appaix, Marie-France Nissou, Jean-Paul Issartel, Didier Wion, INSERM U836, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences, Bâtiment Edmond J Safra, Université Joseph Fourier, CHU Michallon, 38042 Grenoble, France.
Didier
D
Wion
Brain; Cancer stem cell; Cell plasticity; Glioma; Mesenchymal stem cell; Neurodegenerative disease; Pericyte; Stem cell