Neural Stem Cells Sprout Long Axons

Early neurons reprogrammed from human skin cells show unprecedented axonal growth in a rat model of spinal cord injury.

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Human embryonic stem cellsPLOS BIOLOGY, EUGENE RUSSO

Stem cells derived from the skin of an 86-year-old man show a surprising capacity to survive and form long axons at the site of a spinal cord injury in rats. The results, published today (August 7) in Neuron, suggest that even induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reprogrammed from aging human cells have an intrinsic ability to overcome inhibitory factors to form neurons and extend axons.

A rat neuronal stem cell (NSC) line had previously shown similar potential for regrowth: a 2012 study from the same research group demonstrated that rat NSCs could form axons that travelled great distances within rodent brains and spines, and restore movement to limbs after a spinal cord injury.

“Both studies are very provocative in terms of the amount of axon ...

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