导读：隆德大学的研究人员已经在成人大脑中发现了一种新的干细胞。这些细胞可以增殖并形成几种不同的细胞类型，最重要的是他们可以形成新的脑细胞。现在，研究人员希望把发现用于开发可以修复大脑疾病和损伤的新方法上。研究发表在PLoS ONE期刊上。
隆德大学的研究人员已经在成人大脑中发现了一种新的干细胞。这些细胞可以增殖并形成几种不同的细胞类型，最重要的是他们可以形成新的脑细胞。现在，研究人员希望把发现用于开发可以修复大脑疾病和损伤的新方法上。研究发表在PLoS ONE期刊上。
分析脑组织切片，研究人员首次发现大脑中的干细胞定位于周围小血管。大脑中干细胞的特定功能目前尚不得而知，但其可塑性会有巨大研究开发潜力。类似的细胞类型已被确定在其他一些器官中存在，这些细胞可以促进肌肉、骨骼、软骨和脂肪组织的再生。
在其他器官中，研究人员已经有明确的证据证明这些类型的细胞有助于修复和伤口愈合。科学家们建议这种疗法可能也适用于大脑。下一步就是要尽量控制和提高干细胞自我修复属性，开展有针对性的治疗。
隆德大学神经科学副教授Gesine Paul-Visse博士说：我们的研究结果表明细胞的容量比我们原先想象的要大得多，而且这些细胞是非常灵活的。
最有趣的是他们形成神经细胞的能力，但它们也可用于其他类型的细胞。研究结果有助于更好地了解脑细胞的可塑性，并利用这些非常功能开辟新的机遇。
Paul-Visse博士说：我们希望我们的研究结果便于我们更好地了解大脑的自身修复机制。最终利用这些机制开发新的可以修复病变脑的治疗方法。
The Adult Human Brain Harbors Multipotent Perivascular Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Gesine Paul, Ilknur zen, Nicolaj S. Christophersen, Thomas Reinbothe, Johan Bengzon, Edward Visse, Katarina Jansson, Karin Dannaeus, Catarina Henriques-Oliveira, Laurent Roybon, Sergey V. Anisimov, Mikael Svensson, Anders Haegerstrand, Patrik Brundin
Blood vessels and adjacent cells form perivascular stem cell niches in adult tissues. In this perivascular niche, a stem cell with mesenchymal characteristics was recently identified in some adult somatic tissues. These cells are pericytes that line the microvasculature, express mesenchymal markers and differentiate into mesodermal lineages but might even have the capacity to generate tissue-specific cell types. Here, we isolated, purified and characterized a previously unrecognized progenitor population from two different regions in the adult human brain, the ventricular wall and the neocortex. We show that these cells co-express markers for mesenchymal stem cells and pericytes in vivo and in vitro, but do not express glial, neuronal progenitor, hematopoietic, endothelial or microglial markers in their native state. Furthermore, we demonstrate at a clonal level that these progenitors have true multilineage potential towards both, the mesodermal and neuroectodermal phenotype. They can be epigenetically induced in vitro into adipocytes, chondroblasts and osteoblasts but also into glial cells and immature neurons. This progenitor population exhibits long-term proliferation, karyotype stability and retention of phenotype and multipotency following extensive propagation. Thus, we provide evidence that the vascular niche in the adult human brain harbors a novel progenitor with multilineage capacity that appears to represent mesenchymal stem cells and is different from any previously described human neural stem cell. Future studies will elucidate whether these cells may play a role for disease or may represent a reservoir that can be exploited in efforts to repair the diseased human brain.
文献链接：https://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035577
