Amazing stuff!
"For decades, scientists assumed that neural stem cells (NSCs) only occur in the brain and spinal cord. A new international study ... has now refuted this assumption and discovered a new type of neural stem cell outside the central nervous system (CNS) that opens up enormous possibilities for the development of therapies for neurological diseases. ...
However, to the surprise ... they were able to use the STAP method to obtain a rare cell population from the periphery of the central nervous system that exhibits the properties of neural stem cells (NSCs). These NSCs, called peripheral neural stem cells (pNSCs), were found in several tissues of the mouse, including the lung and tail. Once the NSC population had been identified, it became clear that treatment with low pH was not necessary to cultivate them.
A team of researchers from more than ten laboratories in Europe, Asia and North America then examined these newly identified pNSCs in great detail: pNSCs share important molecular and functional characteristics with NSCs of the brain. pNSCs have the same cell morphology, self-renewal and differentiation capacity as NSCs of the brain.
They express several NSC-specific markers and have genome-wide transcriptional and epigenetic profiles that are consistent with those of NSCs in the brain. Furthermore, many pNSCs that migrate out of the neural tube can differentiate into mature neurons and, to a limited extent, glial cells during embryonic and postnatal development. ..."
From the abstract:
"Conventional understanding dictates that mammalian neural stem cells (NSCs) exist only in the central nervous system.
Here, we report that peripheral NSCs (pNSCs) exist outside the central nervous system and can be isolated from mouse embryonic limb, postnatal lung, tail, dorsal root ganglia and adult lung tissues.
Derived pNSCs are distinct from neural crest stem cells, express multiple NSC-specific markers and exhibit cell morphology, self-renewing and differentiation capacity, genome-wide transcriptional profile and epigenetic features similar to control brain NSCs.
pNSCs are composed of Sox1+ cells originating from neuroepithelial cells. pNSCs in situ have similar molecular features to NSCs in the brain.
Furthermore, many pNSCs that migrate out of the neural tube can differentiate into mature neurons and limited glial cells during embryonic and postnatal development.
Our discovery of pNSCs provides previously unidentified insight into the mammalian nervous system development and presents an alternative potential strategy for neural regenerative therapy."
Detection of neural stem cells outside the brain (original news release) "A breakthrough for regenerative medicine"
Identification of peripheral neural stem cells (pNSCs) in the mouse lung.
Fig. 3: Derivation of pNSCs without low-pH treatment.
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