2005/09/19 by B. Cummings, Nobuko Uchida, Stanley Tamaki +5 · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Medicine · #Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms #Nerve injury and regeneration #Mesenchymal stem cell research
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.0507063102
openalex publication_date 2005/09/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We report that prospectively isolated, human CNS stem cells grown as neurospheres (hCNS-SCns) survive, migrate, and express differentiation markers for neurons and oligodendrocytes after long-term engraftment in spinal cord-injured NOD-scid mice. hCNS-SCns engraftment was associated with locomotor recovery, an observation that was abolished by selective ablation of engrafted cells by diphtheria toxin. Remyelination by hCNS-SCns was found in both the spinal cord injury NOD-scid model and myelin-deficient shiverer mice. Moreover, electron microscopic evidence consistent with synapse formation between hCNS-SCns and mouse host neurons was observed. Glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytic differentiation was rare, and hCNS-SCns did not appear to contribute to the scar. These data suggest that hCNS-SCns may possess therapeutic potential for CNS injury and disease.