The adult midbrain contains neural stem cells with neurogenic and dopaminergic potential

Clonogenic neural stem cells (NSC) are self-renewing cells that maintain the capacity to differentiate into brain-specific cell types, and may also replace or repair diseased brain tissue. NSCs can be directly isolated from fetal or adult nervous tissue, or derived from embryonic stem cells. Here, we describe the isolation, expansion and in vitro characterization of adult mouse mesencephalic stem cells (mNSC) and the differentiation into neuronal cells using different co-culture systems. These mNSCs grow in neurospheres, express high levels of early neuroectodermal markers, such as the proneural genes NeuroD1, N…