Generation of Neurons and Astrocytes from Isolated Cells of the Adult Mammalian Central Nervous System

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 255; no. 5052; pp. 1707 - 1710
• Main Authors: Reynolds, Brent A., Weiss, Samuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 27-03-1992; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Adult stem cells; Animals; Antibodies; Astrocytes; Astrocytes - cytology; Biological and medical sciences; Cell differentiation; Cell Division - drug effects; Cell growth; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Central nervous system; Corpus Striatum - cytology; Culture Media, Serum-Free; Cultured cells; Delta cells; Epidermal Growth Factor - pharmacology; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein - metabolism; In Vitro Techniques; Intermediate Filament Proteins - metabolism; Intermediate Filaments - metabolism; Isolated neuron and nerve. Neuroglia; Mammalia; Mice; Multipotent stem cells; Nerve regeneration; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Nervous system; Nestin; Neurogenesis; Neurons; Neurons - cytology; Neuroscience; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - metabolism; Regeneration; Stem cells; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Cell proliferation; Vertebrata; Epidermal growth factor; Mammalia; Neuron; Central nervous system; Astrocyte
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1553558

Neurogenesis in the mammalian central nervous system is believed to end in the period just after birth; in the mouse striatum no new neurons are produced after the first few days after birth. In this study, cells isolated from the striatum of the adult mouse brain were induced to proliferate in vitro by epidermal growth factor. The proliferating cells initially expressed nestin, an intermediate filament found in neuroepithelial stem cells, and subsequently developed the morphology and antigenic properties of neurons and astrocytes. Newly generated cells with neuronal morphology were immunoreactive for γ-aminobutyric acid and substance P, two neurotransmitters of the adult striatum in vivo. Thus, cells of the adult mouse striatum have the capacity to divide and differentiate into neurons and astrocytes.