The bipotential glial progenitor cell line can develop into both oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the mouse forebrain.

Oligodendrocyte-type 2 astrocyte (O2A) progenitor cells in vivo might differentiate into oligodendrocytes. To examine the influence of the brain micro-environment on the differentiation, a bipotential glial cell line from the mouse cerebrum, designated OS3 cells, was implanted into the telencephalon of infant and adult mice. About a half of the OS3 cells injected into 1-week postnatal brain expressed galactocerebroside (GalC), and even myelin basic protein, which were not observed to be expressed in vitro. By contrast, in the brain over 6 months postnatally, many OS3 cells expressed glial fibrillary acidic protein, and did not express much GalC. These findings suggest that the differentiation of glial cells is controlled by stage specific factors in the brain.