Embryonic brain precursors transplanted into kainate lesioned rat spinal cord

Embryonic day 14 rat cerebral cortex-derived precursors were expanded with FGF2 and labeled with BrdU prior to being transplanted into the kainic acid -lesioned adult rat spinal cord. While these precursors give rise to cells with neuronal, astrocytic and oligodendroglial phenotypes in vitro, they re mained largely undifferentiated up to 12 weeks in vivo. Numerous BrdU-label ed cells were found in injured gray matter, and also lining the dilated cen tral canal that: sometimes accompanies these lesions. BrdU-labeled cells ne ver coexpressed Map2ab,rarely co-expressed GFAP but often coexpressed nesti n, even after 12 weeks in vivo. These observations suggest that the environ ment of the kainic acid-injured spinal cord is not hostile to transplanted embryonic cerebral cortex-derived precursors, but also is not conducive to their neuronal differentation. NeuroReport 12:1015-1019 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.