Migration and multipotentiality of PSA-NCAM plus neural precursors transplanted in the developing brain

By optimizing the previously described strategy for obtention of spheres en riched in PSA-NCAM+ precursors, we prepared PSA-NCAM-immunoselected cell po pulations from cerebral hemispheres of neonatal MBP-LacZ transgenic mice. T hese cells expressed Nestin, exhibited clonal expansion potential and forme d spheres, which were initially enriched in PSA-NCAM+ cells but became enri ched in GD3+ oligodendrocyte progenitors after 1 week in B104 contionned me dium. One month after their periventricular transplantation into the brain of wild-type and/or shiverer newborn mice, cells from PSA-NCAM+ spheres exh ibited a higher rostral migration potential than cells from GD3+ spheres, a nd clearly contributed to myelination in the olfactory bulb. In shiverer ho sts, both sphere populations generated oligodendrocytes with similar myelin ation potential. In addition PSA-NCAM+ sphere cells generated GFAP+ astrocy tes and NeuN+ neurons, depending on their site of insertion. These results evidence the high plasticity of newborn PSA-NCAM+ neural precursors and sug gest that they are promising tools for cell therapy of CNS diseases, includ ing myelin disorders.