Tripotential differentiation of NS cells in vitro and generation of myelinating oligodendrocytes in vivo.

<p>(A–E) Quantitative marker expression and representative immunofluorescence images. The specific culture conditions used to differentiate NS cells resulted in the generation of oligodendrocytes (∼20%) positive for O4 (B), Rip (D) and PLP (E), GFAP-expressing astrocytes (∼40%; C–D) and neurons positive for ß-III tubulin/TUJ1 (∼10%; C). (F–H) NS cells cultured in N2 medium and proliferated for 4 days in the presence of FGF2, PDGF and forskolin were transplanted into the brain of 2- to 3-day-old myelin-deficient rats. Two weeks after transplantation, the engrafted cells had formed PLP-positive myelin internodes. Shown are representative pictures from septum (F) and corpus callosum (G–H). Scale bars B–D, 100 µm; F–H, 20 µm.