Differentiation of transplanted fetal liver stem cell antigen-positive cells into neural cells in mice

摘要

To study whether stem cell antigen-positive (Sca-1+) cells from fetal liver can differentiate into neural cells.Methods Sca-1+ cells from male fetal liver were isolated with a magnetic cell sorting kit and transplanted into lethally irradiated female mice (2×103 cells/mouse).The donor cells and their characteristics in recipient brains were identified and detected by FISH and immunohistochemistry double-staining analysis at 2,4,6 months after transplantation.Results There existed many male cells in brains of female recipents,including white and gray matters,forbrain,midbrain,the ependyma of the ventricular system,and the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle.Immunochemistry revealed that the Y chromosome-positive cells expressed many neural specific markers,including Neu N,TuJ-1,NF-M,GFAP and so on.Statistic analysis showed that ratio of Y chromosome-postitive cells in brain was (4.5±0.5)%,ratio of both Y chromosome and NeuN positive cells (1.2±0.3)%,ratio of both Y chromosome and GFAP postitive cells (1.0±0.2)%.There was no difference between the ratios of Y chromosome-positive cells in brains 2,4,and 6 month after transplantation.Conclusion Sca-1+ cells from fetal liver,the most of which are regarded as hematopoientic stem cells,can differentiate into neural cells and astrocytes in the brains of adult mice and survive more than 6 months.7 refs.