Transformed Stem Cells Express Nerve Cell Proteins

Researchers who had shown that it was possible to generate nerve-like cells from stem cells taken from adult adipose tissue have now confirmed that these cells express proteins normally found on neurons and glial cells and are sensitive to certain neurotoxins.

Investigators at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA) had demonstrated that adipose-derived adult stromal (ADAS) cells were capable of differentiating into mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal cells in vitro, including cells with select characteristics of neuronal/glial tissue. A cocktail of growth factors and induction agents present in the growth medium caused the transformation from fat to nerve cells.

Now, in a paper published in the June 1, 2004, issue of Experimental Neurology, the investigators show that the newly transformed nerve-like cells express proteins indicative of neuronal/glial cells, including nestin, GFAP, S-100, NeuN, MAP2, tau, and beta-III tubulin. Additional immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting results show that the induced cells expressed gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the NR-1 and NR-2 subunits of the glutamate receptor, GAP-43, synapsin I, and voltage-gated calcium channels.


The functional nature of these proteins was confirmed by treating the induced cells with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), a toxic antagonist of the neurotransmitter glutamate. NMDA, which is not toxic to fat cells, caused the induced cells to die.

"This is a big step to take undifferentiated cells that have not committed to a particular future and redirect them to develop down a different path,” said senior author Dr. Henry Rice, a surgeon at Duke University Medical Center. "Results such as these challenge the traditional dogma that once cells become a certain type of tissue they are locked into that destiny. While it appears that we have awakened a new pathway of development, the exact trigger for this change is still not known.”




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