Differentiation of neural stem cells from human olfactory mucosa into dopaminergic neuron-like cells

The aim of this study was to develop an alternative treatment method for neurodegenerative diseases with dopaminergic neuron loss such as Parkinson's disease by differentiating cells obtained from human olfactory mucosa-derived neural stem cells (hOM-NSCs) with neurotrophic agents in vitro. hOM-NSCs were isolated and subjected to immunophenotypic and MTT analyses. These hOM-NSCs were then cultured in a 3D environment to form neurospheres. The neurospheres were subjected to immunophenotypic analysis and neuronal differentiation assays. Furthermore, hOM-NSCs were differentiated into dopaminergic neuron-like cells in vitro. After differentiation, the dopaminergic neuron-like cells were subjected to immunophenotypic (TH, MAP2) and genotypic (DAT, PITX3, NURR1, TH) characterization. Flow cytometric analysis showed that NSCs were positive for cell surface markers (CD56, CD133). Immunofluorescence analysis showed that NSCs were positive for markers with neuronal and glial cell characteristics (SOX2, NESTIN, TUBB3, GFAP and NG2). Immunofluorescence analysis after differentiation of hOM-NSCs into dopaminergic neuron-like cells in vitro showed that they were positive for a protein specific for dopaminergic neurons (TH). qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of dopaminergic neuron-specific genes (DAT, TH, PITX3, NURR1) was significantly increased. It was concluded that hOM-NSCs may be a source of neural stem cells that can be used for cell replacement therapies in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, are resistant to cell culture, can differentiate into neuronal and glial lineage, are easy to obtain and are cost effective.