Scalable generation of Schwann cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells

Schwann cells (SCs) are an absolute prerequisite for development of effective treatment of myelin disorders and nerve injuries. However, human sources of functional, myelinating SCs are extremely limited. Here, we have developed a novel, efficient strategy for producing directly an unlimited supply of functional human SCs via successful derivation of expandable Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) (hPSC-SCPs). Functional and molecular characteristics of SCs from hPSC-SCPs (hPSC-SCP-SCs) appeared to be similar to those of authentic Schwann cells. As a novel therapeutic target, transplanted hPSC-SCP-SCs effectively promoted axonal regeneration through directly myelinating regenerated-axons in sciatic nerve injured mice. Here, we present hPSC-SCPs and hPSC-SCP-SCs as an outstanding resource to use for investigating human Schwann cell pathology and biology and for translational approaches to PNS and CNS repair and regeneration. These data include global gene expression of 13 samples including 4 kinds of SCP, 4 kinds of SC, 2 kinds of neural crest stem cells (NCSC), 2 kinds of iPSC and 1 kind of hESC (H9).

雪旺细胞（Schwann cells, SCs）是开发髓鞘疾病与神经损伤有效治疗方案的绝对必要条件。然而，具备功能且可形成髓鞘的雪旺细胞的人类来源极为有限。本研究开发了一种全新且高效的策略，可通过从人类多能干细胞（human pluripotent stem cells, hPSCs）中成功诱导获得可扩增的雪旺细胞前体（Schwann cell precursors, SCPs，下称hPSC-SCPs），从而直接获取无限量的功能性人源雪旺细胞。由hPSC-SCPs分化得到的雪旺细胞（下称hPSC-SCP-SCs），其功能与分子特征与原生型雪旺细胞高度相似。作为新型治疗靶点，移植的hPSC-SCP-SCs可通过直接为再生轴突包裹髓鞘，有效促进坐骨神经损伤小鼠的轴突再生。本研究提供的hPSC-SCPs与hPSC-SCP-SCs，可作为极具价值的研究资源，用于探究人类雪旺细胞的病理与生物学特性，以及开展周围神经系统（Peripheral Nervous System, PNS）和中枢神经系统（Central Nervous System, CNS）修复与再生的转化研究。本数据集包含13份样本的全基因表达谱，样本涵盖4类雪旺细胞前体、4类雪旺细胞、2类神经嵴干细胞（neural crest stem cells, NCSC）、2类诱导多能干细胞（induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSC）以及1株人类胚胎干细胞H9（human embryonic stem cells, hESC）。