Abstract TP108: Ischemia-Induced Multipotent Stem Cells in Human Cerebral Infarction

We have previously demonstrated that brain pericytes near cerebral vessels acquired multipotency following cerebral ischemia in mice, and these ischemia-induced multipotent stem cells (iSCs) could contribute to neurogenesis (Nakagomi et al. Eur J Neurosci. 2009, Stem Cells. 2009, 2015). However, it remains unclear whether pericytes can also revert to multipotency in the human brain following stroke. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hyogo College of Medicine. Brain samples were obtained from post-stroke areas in patients requiring both decompressive craniectomy and partial lobectomy for diffuse cerebral infarction (Fig.1). Histological findings of post-stroke human brain tissue sections showed that nestin-positive cells localized near von Willebrand factor-positive endothelial cells and coexpressed pericytic markers (Figs. 2, 3). Then, post-stroke human brain tissue sections were dissociated and cells were incubated under adherent culture conditions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR...