Wnt signaling and a Smad pathway blockade direct the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to multipotent neural crest cells.

ABSTRACT: Neural crest stem cells can be isolated from differentiated cultures of human pluripotent stem cells, but the process is inefficient and requires cell sorting to obtain a highly enriched population. No specific method for directed differentiation of human pluripotent cells toward neural crest stem cells has yet been reported. This severely restricts the utility of these cells as a model for disease and development and for more applied purposes such as cell therapy and tissue engineering. In this report, we use small-molecule compounds in a single-step method for the efficient generation of self-renewing neural crest-like stem cells in chemically defined media. This approach is accomplished directly from human pluripotent cells without the need for coculture on feeder layers or cell sorting

SUBMITTER: Menendez L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3228464 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature