Primitive and Definitive Neural Precursor Cells Are Present in Human Cerebral Organoids.

Activation of neural stem cells (NSCs) correlates with improved functional outcomes in mouse models of injury. In the murine brain, NSCs have been extensively characterized and comprise (1) primitive NSCs (pNSCs) and (2) definitive NSCs (dNSCs). pNSCs are the earliest cells in the NSC lineage giving rise to dNSCs in the embryonic and adult mouse brain.

Examining the fundamental biology of a novel population of directly reprogrammed human neural precursor cells.

Background: Cell reprogramming is a promising avenue for cell-based therapies as it allows for the generation of multipotent, unipotent, or mature somatic cells without going through a pluripotent state. While the use of autologous cells is considered ideal, key challenges for their clinical translation include the ability to reproducibly generate sufficient quantities of cells within a therapeutically relevant time window.

Methods: We performed transfection of three distinct human somatic starting populations of cells with a non-integrating synthetic plasmid expressing Musashi 1 (MSI1), Neurogenin 2 (NGN2), and Methyl-CpG-Binding Domain 2 (MBD2).

Transplantation of Directly Reprogrammed Human Neural Precursor Cells Following Stroke Promotes Synaptogenesis and Functional Recovery.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term disability. Cell transplantation is a promising strategy to treat stroke. We explored the efficacy of directly reprogrammed human neural precursor cell (drNPC) transplants to promote functional recovery in a model of focal ischemic stroke in the mouse sensorimotor cortex.

Myelin Basic Protein Regulates Primitive and Definitive Neural Stem Cell Proliferation from the Adult Spinal Cord.

The adult mammalian forebrain comprises two distinct populations of neural stem cells (NSCs): rare, Oct4 positive, primitive NSCs (pNSCs) and definitive NSC (dNSC) which are more abundant and express GFAP. The pNSCs are upstream of the dNSCs in the neural stem cell lineage. Herein we show that pNSC and dNSC populations can also be isolated from the developing and adult spinal cord.

Activating Endogenous Neural Precursor Cells Using Metformin Leads to Neural Repair and Functional Recovery in a Model of Childhood Brain Injury.

The development of cell replacement strategies to repair the injured brain has gained considerable attention, with a particular interest in mobilizing endogenous neural stem and progenitor cells (known as neural precursor cells [NPCs]) to promote brain repair. Recent work demonstrated metformin, a drug used to manage type II diabetes, promotes neurogenesis. We sought to determine its role in neural repair following brain injury.

Cyclosporin A enhances neural precursor cell survival in mice through a calcineurin-independent pathway.

Cyclosporin A (CsA) has direct effects on neural stem and progenitor cells (together termed neural precursor cells; NPCs) in the adult central nervous system. Administration of CsA in vitro or in vivo promotes the survival of NPCs and expands the pools of NPCs in mice. Moreover, CsA administration is effective in promoting NPC activation, tissue repair and functional recovery in a mouse model of cortical stroke.