New Insights into Adult Stem Cells

New studies suggest that successful application of stem cells to regenerate damaged peripheral nervous system (PNS) tissue will require that the origin of the stem cell be matched to the specific tissue needing repair. The studies were reported in the August 15, 2002, issue of Neuron.

Researchers found that the intrinsic properties of neural stem cells vary, depending on the region of the peripheral nervous system where they are located. One study focused on neural crest stem cells (NCSCs), so-named because they migrate out of the neural tube during embryonic development and give rise to a number of tissues, including the peripheral nervous system. Because it was thought that NCSCs differentiated during fetal development, the researchers believed there would no NCSCs in the adult peripheral nervous system.

However, experiments showed that the NCSCs were self-renewing and multipotent, able to differentiate into both neurons and supporting glial cells. While they had most of the properties of embryonic NCSCs, they were unable to become serotonergic and noradrenergic neurons, two cell types that embryonic NCSCs can become.

"This finding was significant because some people assumed that adult stem cells would have the same properties as fetal stem cells,” said Sean J. Morrison, investigator, from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA). "But work on blood-forming stem cells suggested just the opposite—that while the adult stem cells are self-renewing and multipotent, they do change their properties in certain ways.”




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