Nature Neuroscience
3, 986 - 991 (2000)
doi:10.1038/79924
Skeletal myogenic potential of human and mouse neural stem cellsRossella Galli1, 2, Ugo Borello3, 2, Angela Gritti2, M. Giulia Minasi3, Christopher Bjornson4, Marcello Coletta3, Marina Mora1, M. Gabriella Cusella De Angelis5, Roberta Fiocco2, Giulio Cossu4, 2
& Angelo L. Vescovi1, 21
National Neurological Institute, C. Besta, Via Celoria 11,
Milan I-20133, Italy
2
Stem Cell Research Institute, H. S. Raffaele, Via Olgettina 58,
Milan I-20133, Italy
3
Fondazione Pasteur-Cenci Bolognetti, Dept. of Histology and Medical Embryology University of Rome, La Sapienza, Via A. Scarpa 14, Rome I-00161,
Italy
4
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Box 357350, Seattle, Washington 98195-7350, USA
5
Dept. of Experimental Medicine, University of Pavia, Via Forlanini 8, Pavia I-27100, Italy
Correspondence should be addressed to Angelo L. Vescovi vescovi.angelo@hsr.it or Giulio Cossu giulio.cossu@uniroma1.itDistinct cell lineages established early in development are usually maintained throughout adulthood. Thus, adult stem cells have been thought to generate differentiated cells specific to the tissue in which they reside. This view has been challenged; for example, neural stem cells can generate cells that normally originate from a different germ layer. Here we show that acutely isolated and clonally derived neural stem cells from mice and humans could produce skeletal myotubes in vitro and in vivo, the latter following transplantation into adult animals. Myogenic conversion in vitro required direct exposure to myoblasts, and was blocked if neural cells were clustered. Thus, a community effect between neural cells may override such myogenic induction. We conclude that neural stem cells, which generate neurons, glia and blood cells, can also produce skeletal muscle cells, and can undergo various patterns of differentiation depending on exposure to appropriate epigenetic signals in mature tissues.
|
