Chalmers-Redman R M, Priestley T, Kemp J A, Fine A
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Neuroscience. 1997 Feb;76(4):1121-8. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4522(96)00386-7.
Central nervous system neurons and glia arise from undifferentiated embryonic neuroepithelial cells. Such progenitor cells from the human fetal forebrain can be propagated in vitro for extended periods, when grown on non-adhesive substrates in medium containing epidermal growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-1. These actively-dividing cells can be induced to differentiate into a variety of histochemically-characterized neurons and glia consistent with their forebrain origin. Electrophysiological recording indicates that differentiated neurons derived from these progenitors mature slowly, and display a range of glutamate- and GABA-mediated conductances characteristic of normal mammalian forebrain neurons. Our observations support a role for these trophic factors in normal development of the human brain. The methods described here may provide abundant normal, untransformed human forebrain neurons and glia for research and therapeutic applications.
中枢神经系统的神经元和神经胶质细胞起源于未分化的胚胎神经上皮细胞。当在含有表皮生长因子和胰岛素样生长因子-1的培养基中的非粘附性底物上生长时，来自人类胎儿前脑的此类祖细胞可以在体外长时间增殖。这些活跃分裂的细胞可以被诱导分化为各种具有组织化学特征的神经元和神经胶质细胞，这与其前脑起源一致。电生理记录表明，源自这些祖细胞的分化神经元成熟缓慢，并表现出一系列正常哺乳动物前脑神经元特有的由谷氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸介导的电导。我们的观察结果支持这些营养因子在人类大脑正常发育中的作用。这里描述的方法可能为研究和治疗应用提供大量正常的、未转化的人类前脑神经元和神经胶质细胞。
