Uncomplicated differentiation of stem cells into bipolar neurons and myelinating glia

Epidermal neural crest stem cells (EPI-NCSCs), derived from the bulge of hair follicles, appear to be promising donor stem cell candidates. In the current work, EPI-NCSCs were harvested from rodents and humans. isolation procedures revealed high levels of nestin-positive neural stem cells and the percentage Of human neural stem cells (95 +/- 0.6%) is even higher than the percentage found in cultures of hair follicles from rodents (90 +/- 0.9%). Furthermore, differentiation of EPI-NCSCs into bipolar neurons, myelinating Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes occurred by applying a simple and straightforward method. Bipolar neurons could be obtained by culturing on a collagen matrix and are of great interest for auditory neuron regeneration since auditory neurons are bipolar. We propose that this type of stem cells, would make an excellent model for autologous transplantation and offers great potential for neural regeneration in diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.