Transcriptional profiles of neural crest-derived progenitor cells from the small bowel and subcutaneous adipose tissue

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are most commonly sourced from neural tissue such as the central nervous system or the enteric nervous system (ENS) of the gut. Emerging evidence has shown that adipose tissue contains its own complex nervous system consisting of sympathetic and sensory innervation. The entirety of the peripheral nervous system is the progeny of Wnt1-expressing cells of the embryonic neural crest. This includes the ENS, autonomic neurons, and Schwann cell precursors that provide peripheral glial cells. Counterintuitive to their name, however, embryonic Schwann cell precursors represent multipotent stem cells that migrate along embryonic nerve fibers and contribute to glial and non-glial cell populations, including melanocytes, neuroendocrine chromaffin cells, enteric neurons, sympathetic neurons and mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow, depending on local environmental cues. However, no equivalent progenitors are known to exist postnatally in the nerve fiber niche. Schwann cells have been demonstrated to give rise to enteric neurons postnatally, suggesting they retain neuronal progenitor properties and offer a potential source of NSCs for regenerative therapies. In this study, we compare the transcriptomic properties of neural crest-derived NSCs from the intestine (enteric neural progenitors) and the nerve fibers of the subcutaneous adipose tissue and evaluate the effects of different methods of NSC culture and isolation. Examination of mRNA profiles in neural crest cells isolated from the intestine and adipose tissue