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Neural differentiation of rat aorta pericyte cells

Pericyte perivascular cells, believed to originate mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), are characterized by their capability to differentiate into various phenotypes and participate in tissue reconstruction of different organs, including the brain. We show that these cells can be induced to differentiation into neural‐like phenotypes. For these studies, pericytes were obtained from aorta ex‐plants of Sprague–Dawley rats and differentiated into neural cells following induction with trans retinoic acid (RA) in serum‐free defined media or differentiation media containing nerve growth and brain‐derived neuronal factor, B27, N2, and IBMX. When induced to differentiation with RA, cells express the pluripotency marker protein stage‐specific embryonic antigen‐1, neural‐specific proteins β3‐tubulin, neurofilament‐200, and glial fibrillary acidic protein, suggesting that pericytes undergo differentiation, similar to that of neuroectodermal cells. Differentiated cells respond with intracellular calcium transients to membrane depolarization by KCl indicating the presence of voltage‐gated ion channels and express functional N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors, characteristic for functional neurons. The study of neural differentiation of pericytes contributes to the understanding of induction of neuroectodermal differentiation as well as providing a new possible stem‐cell source for cell regeneration therapy in the brain. © 2011 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry