FIGURE 2.

Sp^−/− progenitor stem cells treated with folate exhibit pluripotency and differentiation. A, folate-rescued neurospheres from Sp^−/− embryos were stained for Nestin, CD133, Sox2, Oct4, and alkaline phosphatase (n = 8). These neurospheres demonstrated stem cell pluripotency, as seen in neurospheres from WT embryos. B, neurospheres from WT and FA-treated Sp^−/− embryos were allowed to differentiate for 7 days in the absence of growth factors and immunostained for TuJ1, GFAP, O4, and α-SMA. DAPI was used as a nuclear stain. Stained cells were counted from 5 regions per well (n = 4 wells per antibody) and data were expressed as percentage of the average of DAPI positive cells for each stain. Cells in both groups were capable of differentiation. The insets in TuJ1, O4, and SMA staining shows an enlarged differentiated cell in WT and FA-treated Sp^−/− cells.