Seminar by Prof. Shum "Towards induced pluripotent cell-derived sensory neurons for fate commitment of bone marrow stromal cell-derived Schwann cells and beyond."

Towards induced pluripotent cell-derived sensory neurons for fate commitment of bone marrow stromal cell-derived Schwann cells and beyond.

Abstract:
Our ultimate goal of in vitro derivation of Schwann cells (SchCs) from adult bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) is such that they may be used autologously to assist post-traumatic nerve regeneration. Our experiments indicated that neuro-ectodermal progenitor cells among the human hBMSCs could be selectively expanded and then induced to differentiate into SchC-like cells. Co-culture of the SchC-like cells with embryonic dorsal root ganglion neurons (rat) facilitated contact-mediated signaling that accomplished the switch to fate-committed SCs. Microarray analysis and in vitro myelination provided evidence that the human BMSC-derived SchCs were functionally mature. This was reinforced by repair and myelination phenotypes observable in vivo with the derived SchCs seeded into a nerve guide as an implant across a critical gap in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury.