Transformed Stem Cells Express Nerve Cell Proteins

Investigators at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA) had demonstrated that adipose-derived adult stromal (ADAS) cells were capable of differentiating into mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal cells in vitro, including cells with select characteristics of neuronal/glial tissue. A cocktail of growth factors and induction agents present in the growth medium caused the transformation from fat to nerve cells.

Now, in a paper published in the June 1, 2004, issue of Experimental Neurology, the investigators show that the newly transformed nerve-like cells express proteins indicative of neuronal/glial cells, including nestin, GFAP, S-100, NeuN, MAP2, tau, and beta-III tubulin. Additional immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting results show that the induced cells expressed gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the NR-1 and NR-2 subunits of the glutamate receptor, GAP-43, synapsin I, and voltage-gated calcium channels.


The functional nature of these proteins was confirmed by treating the induced cells with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), a toxic antagonist of the neurotransmitter glutamate. NMDA, which is not toxic to fat cells, caused the induced cells to die.

"This is a big step to take undifferentiated cells that have not committed to a particular future and redirect them to develop down a different path,” said senior author Dr. Henry Rice, a surgeon at Duke University Medical Center. "Results such as these challenge the traditional dogma that once cells become a certain type of tissue they are locked into that destiny. While it appears that we have awakened a new pathway of development, the exact trigger for this change is still not known.”




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