Recent advances in stem cell neurobiology

1. Neural stem cells can be cultured from the CNS of different mammalian species at many stages of development. They have an extensive capacity for self-renewal and will proliferate ex vivo in response to mitogenic growth factors or following genetic modification with immortalising oncogenes. Neural stem cells are multipotent since their differentiating progeny will give rise to the principal cellular phenotypes comprising the mature CNS: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. 2. Neural stem cells can also be derived from more primitive embryonic stem (ES) cells cultured from the blastocyst. ES cells are considered to be pluripotent since they can give rise to the full cellular spectrum and will, therefore, contribute to all three of the embryonic germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. However, pluripotent cells have also been derived from germ cells and teratocarcinomas (embryonal carcinomas) and their progeny may also give rise to the multiple cellular phenotypes contributing to the CNS. In a recent development, ES cells have also been isolated and grown from human blastocysts, thus raising the possibility of growing autologous stem cells when combined with nuclear transfer technology. 3. There is now an emerging recognition that the adult mammalian brain, including that of primates and humans, harbours stem cell populations suggesting the existence of a previously unrecognised neural plasticity to the mature CNS, and thereby raising the possibility of promoting endogenous neural reconstruction. 4. Such reports have fuelled expectations for the clinical exploitation of neural stem cells in cell replacement or recruitment strategies for the treatment of a variety of human neurological conditions including Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis and ischaemic brain injury. Owing to their migratory capacity within the CNS, neural stem cells may also find potential clinical application as cellular vectors for widespread gene delivery and the expression of therapeutic proteins. In this regard, they may be eminently suitable for the correction of genetically-determined CNS disorders and in the management of certain tumors responsive to cytokines. Since large numbers of stem cells can be generated efficiently in culture, they may obviate some of the technical and ethical limitations associated with the use of fresh (primary) embryonic neural tissue in current transplantation strategies. 5. While considerable recent progress has been made in terms of developing new techniques allowing for the long-term culture of human stem cells, the successful clinical application of these cells is presently limited by our understanding of both (i) the intrinsic and extrinsic regulators of stem cell proliferation and (ii) those factors controlling cell lineage determination and differentiation. Although such cells may also provide accessible model systems for studying neural development, progress in the field has been further limited by the lack of suitable markers needed for the identification and selection of cells within proliferating heterogeneous populations of precursor cells. There is a further need to distinguish between the committed fate (defined during normal development) and the potential specification (implying flexibility of fate through manipulation of its environment) of stem cells undergoing differentiation. 6. With these challenges lying ahead, it is the opinion of the authors that stem-cell therapy is likely to remain within the experimental arena for the foreseeable future. In this regard, few (if any) of the in vivo studies employing neural stem cell grafts have shown convincingly that behavioural recovery can be achieved in the various model paradigms. Moreover, issues relating to the quality control of cultured cells and their safety following transplantation have only begun to be addressed. 7. While on the one hand cell biotechnologists have been quick to realise the potential commercial value, human stem cell research and its clinical applications has been the subject of intense ethical and legislative considerations. The present chapter aims to review some recent aspects of stem cell research applicable to developmental neurobiology and the potential applications in clinical neuroscience.