Neonatal cortical astrocytes possess intrinsic potential in neuronal conversion in defined media.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytes are multifunctional brain cells responsible for maintaining the health and function of the central nervous system. Accumulating evidence suggests that astrocytes might be complementary source across different brain regions to supply new neurons during adult neurogenesis. In this study, we found that neonatal mouse cortical astrocytes can be directly converted into neurons when exposed to neurogenic differentiation culture conditions, with insulin being the most critical component. Detailed comparison studies between mouse cortical astrocytes and neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs) demonstrated the converted neuronal cells originate indeed from the astrocytes rather than NPCs. The neurons derived from mouse cortical astrocytes display typical neuronal morphologies, express neuronal

SUBMITTER: Zeng P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8563807 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature