Zhang Xiaodong, Klueber Kathleen M, Guo Zhanfang, Cai Jun, Lu Chengliang, Winstead Welby I, Qiu Mengsheng, Roisen Fred J
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 500 South Preston Street, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
Brain Res. 2006 Feb 16;1073-1074:109-19. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2005.12.059. Epub 2006 Feb 7.
Neurosphere forming cells (NSFCs) have been established from cultures of adult olfactory neuroepithelium obtained from patients and cadavers as described previously. They remained undifferentiated in serum or defined media with or without neurotrophic factors. Many factors affect the differentiation of stem cells along a neuronal pathway. Retinoic acid (RA), forskolin (FN), and sonic hedgehog (Shh) have been reported to act as growth promoters during neurogenesis of embryonic CNS in vivo. The effect of RA, FN, and Shh on NSFCs' neuronal lineage restriction has not been described. The application of RA, FN, and Shh to NSFCs induced the expression of motoneuronal transcription factors, tyrosine hydroxylase, an indicator of dopamine production, and neurite formation. These studies further heighten the potential for using olfactory neuroepithelial progenitors for future autologous cell replacement strategies in neurodegenerative conditions and trauma as well as for use in diagnostic evaluation.
