Derivation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells from adult bone marrow stromal cells

Abstract

Myelin is essential for neuronal survival and maintenance of normal functions of the nervous system. Demyelinating disorders are debilitating and are often associated with failure of resident oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to differentiate into mature, myelinating oligodendrocytes. Derivation of OPCs, from a safe source that evades ethical issues offers a solution to remyelination therapy. We therefore hypothesized that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) harbour neural progenitor cells at a pre-commitment stage and that in vitro conditions can be exploited to direct differentiation of these cells along the oligodendroglial lineage.

For the current study, adult rat BMSCs used were >90% immunopositive for CD90, CD73, STRO-1 (stromal cell markers), 10% for nestin (neural progenitor marker) but negligible for CD45 (haematopoietic cell marker) as measured by flow cytometry. Transfer of the culture from a highly adhesive substratum to a moderately adhesive substratum resulted in increase in proportion of p75-positive cells but CD49b-positive cells remained at 97% and Sox 10-positive cells remained negligible. Transfer of the culture to a non-adherent substratum fostered the generation of neurospheres comprising cells that were positive for the neural stem/progenitor cell (NP) marker, nestin, and for the neural crest markers CD49b, p75 and Sox10. Prior to this stage, the BMSCs were not yet committed to the neural lineage even though transient upregulation of occasional marker may suggest a bias towards the neural crest cell lineage.

The BM-NPs were then maintained in adherent culture supplemented with beta-Heregulin (β-Her), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and platelet-derived growth factor-AA (PDGF-AA) to direct differentiation along the oligodendroglial lineage. Within two weeks of glial induction, cells expressing the OPC markers - NG2, Olig2, PDGFRa and Sox10, were detectable and these could be expanded in culture for up to 3 months with no observable decline in marker expression. These BM-OPCs matured into myelinating oligodendrocytes after 2 weeks in co-culture with either dorsal root ganglion neurons or cortical neurons. In vivo myelination by BM-OPCs was demonstrated by exploitation of the non-myelinated axons of retinal ganglion cells of adult rats. By 8 weeks post-injection of BM-OPCs into the retina, myelin basic protein-positive processes were also observable along the retinal axons. The results not only suppport our hypothesis, but also provide pointers to the adult bone marrow as a safe and accessible source for the derivation of OPCs towards transplantation therapy in acute demyelinating disorders.