Stem cells are found in various organs where they participate in
tissue homeostasis by replacing differentiated cells lost to
physiological turnover or injury. An investigation was performed to
determine whether stem cells are restricted to produce specific cell
types, namely, those from the tissue in which they reside. After
transplantation into irradiated hosts, genetically labeled neural stem
cells were found to produce a variety of blood cell types including
myeloid and lymphoid cells as well as early hematopoietic cells. Thus,
neural stem cells appear to have a wider differentiation potential than
previously thought.
C. R. R. Bjornson, R. L. Rietze, B. A. Reynolds, NeuroSpheres Limited, 3330 Hospital Drive Northwest, Calgary,
AB, Canada T2N 4N1. M. C. Magli, Istituto di Mutagenesi, Consiglio
Nazionale Recerche, Via Svezia 2/A, Pisa, Italy I-56124. A. L. Vescovi, Neurospheres Limited, 3330 Hospital Drive Northwest, Calgary,
AB, Canada T2N 4N1, and Istituto Nazionale Neurologico C. Besta, Via
Celoria 11, Milan, Italy I-20133.
*
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Present address: University of Washington, Department of
Biochemistry, Seattle, WA 98195-7350, USA.
To whom correspondence should be addressed at University of
Washington, Department of Biochemistry, Seattle, WA 98195-7350, USA,
e-mail: adanac{at}u.washington.edu (for C.R.R.B.) and at Istituto Nazionale Neurologico C. Besta, Via Celoria 11, Milan, Italy I-20133, e-mail: vescovi{at}istituto-besta.it (for A.L.V.).
§
Present address: Walter Eliza Hall Institute, Medical
Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3050.
