Neural stem and progenitor cells of human embryos and fetuses as a basis of biomedical new technologies

Isolation and cultivation of stem and progenitor cells of human embryos and fetuses at the age of 7–12 weeks of gestation have been described. The embryonic cells of human brain formed neurospheres with heterogenous composition. Cell differentiation took place not only in the presence of serum or as a result of attachment of neurosphere to a sublayer, but also in floating neurospheres in the presence of mitogens. In most neurospheres, the nestin-immunopositive cells were located near the surface while the cells stained for β-tubulin III and glial fibrillar acid protein, as compact groups inside the neurospheres.