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

TL;DR

Neurogenesis in the mammalian CNS is thought to cease shortly after birth, with no new neurons produced in the mouse striatum beyond the first few days. The study aimed to determine whether adult mouse striatal cells could be induced to proliferate in vitro. Epidermal growth factor was used to stimulate proliferation of isolated striatal cells in culture. The proliferating cells expressed nestin and later differentiated into neurons and astrocytes, with neurons showing GABA and substance P immunoreactivity, demonstrating that adult mouse striatal cells can divide and differentiate into both cell types.

Abstract

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.