Rathjen Joy, Haines Bryan P, Hudson Kathryn M, Nesci Antonietta, Dunn Stephanie, Rathjen Peter D
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
Development. 2002 Jun;129(11):2649-61. doi: 10.1242/dev.129.11.2649.
During embryogenesis the central and peripheral nervous systems arise from a neural precursor population, neurectoderm, formed during gastrulation. We demonstrate the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells to neurectoderm in culture, in a manner which recapitulates embryogenesis, with the sequential and homogeneous formation of primitive ectoderm, neural plate and neural tube. Formation of neurectoderm occurs in the absence of extraembryonic endoderm or mesoderm and results in a stratified epithelium of cells with morphology, gene expression and differentiation potential consistent with positionally unspecified neural tube. Differentiation of this population to homogeneous populations of neural crest or glia was also achieved. Neurectoderm formation in culture allows elucidation of signals involved in neural specification and generation of implantable cell populations for therapeutic use.
在胚胎发生过程中，中枢神经系统和周围神经系统起源于神经前体细胞群，即原肠胚形成过程中形成的神经外胚层。我们证明了小鼠胚胎干细胞在培养中可分化为神经外胚层，其方式模拟了胚胎发生过程，依次并均匀地形成原始外胚层、神经板和神经管。神经外胚层的形成发生在没有胚外内胚层或中胚层的情况下，并产生一种细胞分层上皮，其形态、基因表达和分化潜能与位置未明确的神经管一致。该细胞群也成功分化为神经嵴或神经胶质的同质细胞群。培养中神经外胚层的形成有助于阐明神经特化过程中涉及的信号，并生成可用于治疗的可植入细胞群。
