A COMMON NEURAL PROGENITOR FOR THE CNS AND PNS

Cultured spinal cord neuroepithelial (NEP) cells can differentiate int o neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes and are morphologically and antigenically distinct from neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) that gene rate the PNS. NEP cells, however, can generate p75/nestin-immunoreacti ve cells that ate morphologically and antigenically similar to previou sly characterized NCSCs. NEP-derived p75-immunoreactive cells differen tiate into peripheral neurons, smooth muscle, and Schwann cells in mas s and clonal culture. Clonal analysis of NEP cells demonstrates that a common NEP progenitor cell generated both CNS and PNS phenotypes. Dif ferentiation into NCSCs was promoted by BMP-2/4 and differentiation di d not require cells to divide, indicating that BMP played an instructi ve role in the differentiation process. Thus, individual NEP cells are multipotent and can differentiate into most major types of cell in th e CNS and PNS and that PNS differentiation involves a transition from a NEP stem to another more limited, p75-immunoreactive, neural crest s tem cell. (C) 1998 Academic Press.