Differentiation of adult human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into Schwann-like cells in vitro / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the differentiative capability of adult human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into Schwann-like cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bone marrows were aspirated from healthy donors and mononuclear cells were separated by Percoll lymphocytes separation liquid (1.073 g/ml) with centrifugation, cells were cultured in DMEM/F12 (1:1) medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 20 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF) and 20 ng/ml basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Cells of passage 1 were identified with immunocytochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mononuclear cells separated by Percoll's were passaged 10 times by trypsin/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) digestion in 40 days, and BMSCs increased about 6x10(7) times in this short period. Immunohistochemistry identified that BMSCs were CD34- and CD31-, but they expressed neuron specific enolase; 0.01%-0.02% of total cells expressed nestin, the marker for neural progenitor cells; 40%-50% cells stained heavily by neurofilament 200; and no glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive cells were identified; S100 expression was detected among 0.1%-0.2% cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Bone marrow contains the stem cells with the ability of differentiating into Schwann-like cells, which may represent an alternative stem cell sources for neural transplantation.</p>

Culture of skin-derived precursors and their differentiation into neurons / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the culture method of skin-derived precursors (SKPs) and to explore a new cell source for cell transplantation of central nervous system.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cells from skins of juvenile and adult mice were isolated and cultured in serum-free medium. A mechanical method was chosen to passage these cells and they were identified by the immunocytochemistry assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>SKPs could be isolated from adult and neonatal skins. They could be maintained in vitro for long periods with stable proliferation, and expanded as undifferentiated cells in culture for more than 12 passages. About 50% of SKPs expressed nestin and majority of these cells expressed fibronectin when they were plated on polyornithine and laminin coated plates. About 5% cells showed neuronal differentiation and expressed neurofilament-M (NF-M) and NSE when SKPs were plated in serum-containing medium, and these cells could also differentiate into adipocytes and fibroblast-like cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The data support the hypothesis that adult skin contains stem cells capable of differentiating into neurons, adipocytes, and fibroblast-like cells. They may represent an alternative autologous stem cell source for CNS cell transplantation.</p>

The in vitro myelin formation in neurospheres of human neural stem cells / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the culture conditions of human neural stem cells and to investigate the ultrastructure of neurospheres.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The cells from the embryonic human cortices were mechanically dissociated. N2 medium was adapted to culture and expand the cells. The cells were identified by immunocytochemistry and EM was applied to examine the ultrastructure of neurospheres.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The neural stem cells from human embryonic brains were successfully cultured and formed typical neurospheres in suspension, and most of the cells expressed vimentin, which was a marker for neural progenitor cells, and the cells could differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. In vitro myelin formation in neurospheres were observed at an early stage of culture.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Human neural stem cells can be cultured from embryonic brains, can form the typical neurospheres in suspension in vitro and have the ability of myelinating, and may be potential source for transplantation in treating myelin disorders.</p>