Isolating globose Basal stem cells from albino wistar rats using a highly specific monoclonal antibody.

Introduction: Olfactory mucosa which is situated in the roof of the nasal cavity possesses an extremely peculiar and exceptional type of pluripotent stem cells called Globose Basal Cells (GBCs) which help in lifelong regeneration of the olfactory mucosa. Previous literature doesn't provide much knowledge on the cytological, histochemical and electrophysiological properties of these cells, as they have never been isolated in pure form.

Material And Methods: Olfactory mucosa was obtained from six Albino Wistar rats by using standardized surgical and chemical separation procedures. GBCs were isolated by using different chemical, surgical and fluorescent techniques.

Results: In this research work, we standardized the techniques for isolating these stem cells in pure form from rat olfactory mucosa by tagging them with GBC-III antibody and separating them from other epithelial cells by using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS). GBC-III antibody is a mouse monoclonal IgM antibody which recognizes a 40 kDa surface antigen, which is a laminin receptor surface protein present on the GBCs. It is a highly specific marker for GBCs, unlike the earlier antibodies used, like GBC-I, which were nonspecific markers for GBCs and showed positive reactions, even with Horizontal Basal Cells (HBCs), sustentacular cells (Sus) and duct cells. This study also standardized the techniques for surgically excising the olfactory mucosa from the nasal septum and chemically separating the olfactory epithelium from the lamina propria.

Conclusion: GBCs are an important group of cells which can be exploited in future to study and treat neuro-degenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis, brain ischaemia, etc. and spinal cord trauma, as they reside in a niche similar to the microenvironment in the central nervous system and have the similar ectodermal development as the neuronal and non-neuronal cells of the CNS. Moreover, olfactory epithelium is easily accessible for autologous transplantation of GBCs for different CNS disorders.