Global Transcriptional analysis of human spinal cord and neocortical neuroepithelial stem (NES) cells. Global Transcriptional analysis of human spinal cord and neocortical neuroepithelial stem (NES) cells

We report the transcriptional profile of human spinal cord and neocortical neuroepithelial stem cells (SC-NES and NCX-NES cells) to identify potential engraftment markers in the lesioned spinal cord. We report that cells with a homologous neuroanatomical origin robustly integrate in the host tissue compared to cells with a different regional identity. Specifically, we describe that SC-NES cells display elective integration properties in the lesioned spinal cord compared to NCX-NES cells and that these properties are due to a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Upon transplantation, SC-NES cells differentiate into neurons and glial cells and extend lond-distance axons, whereas NCX-NES cells remain undifferentiated and display poor integration properties. SC-NES cell upregulate genes related to neurogenesis. In particular. we emphasize the upregulation of MTURN (maturin), ATCAY, PTN (pleiotropin), KAL1 (anosmin), SYT4 and SYT13. Overall design: We handled 6 samples, 3 for SC-NES cells and 3 for NCX-NES cells. Each sample was handled in triplicate for a total of 18 samples. For SC-NES cells we had: undifferentiated cells in vitro (SC-NES), differentiated for 2 months in vitro (SC-Neurons) and differentiated for two months in vivo upon tranplantation (SC-Graft). Similarly, we had three samples for NCX-NES cells: undifferentiated NCX-NES cells, differentiated in vitro for two months (NCX-Neurons) and differentiated for two months in vivo after transplantation (NCX-Graft)