Neurosphere-derived neural cells show region-specific behaviour in vitro.

Neurosphere cultures provide a useful model to study neural stem/progenitor cells (NSC/NPCs). The degree to which neurospheres (NS) retain their regional identity in vitro has, however, been questioned. Here, NS obtained from mouse embryonic cortex, striatum or spinal cord were compared after differentiation. Neurons from cortical NS formed well ordered clusters containing astrocytes, those from striatal NS formed an external ring at the borderof the astrocyte layer, whereas those from spinal cord NS spread radially like the astrocytes. Such in-vitro neural behaviour was region-specific and persisted in clonal conditions, providing evidence of the maintenance of positional cues in NS cultures.