FIG. 1.

The HFC7 hNPC population is composed of immature neuroepithelial-like cells and committed progenitors from the 3 main CNS lineages. (A) Proportions of cells expressing various markers in the HFC7 hNPC population after amplification in vitro (passages 8), expressed as a percentage of total Hoechst⁺ nuclei±SEM. HFC7 cells are a heterogeneous population composed of Ki67⁺ proliferating cells as well as Nestin⁺ neuroepithelial-like cells, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytes, A2B5⁺, MAP5⁺, and β3 tubulin⁺ neuroblasts, and MAP2⁺ mature neurons. Extremely rare (<0.005%) O4⁺ oligodendrocytes were detected among HFC7 cells. (B) Immunofluorescent staining illustrating typical morphology of cells expressing each marker tested in A. (C) Among the Nestin⁺ cell population, a majority corresponds to Nestin⁺/GFAP⁻ neuroepithelial-like cells, whereas less than one-third corresponds to Nestin⁺/GFAP⁺ astrocytes. Note that, among total GFAP⁺ astrocyte population, the vast majority coexpresses nestin. (D) Among the A2B5⁺ cell population, ∼¼ corresponds to A2B5⁺/MAP5⁺ neuroblasts, whereas ¾ are A2B5⁺/MAP5⁻ OPCs. (E) Double-immunofluorescent staining against nestin (red) and GFAP (green), showing a Nestin⁺/GFAP⁺ astrocyte (upper cases) and a Nestin⁺/GFAP⁻neuroepithelial-like cell (lower cases). (F) Double-immunofluorescent staining against A2B5 (red) and MAP5 (green), showing a A2B5⁺/MAP5⁺ neuroblast with typical bipolar morphology (upper cases) and a A2B5⁺/MAP5⁻ OPC with more flat, multipolar morphology (lower cases). Scale bars: 30 μm. HFC, human fetal cortex; hPNC, human neural progenitor cell; CNS, central nervous system; SEM, standard error of the mean; OPC, oligodendrocyte progenitor cell.