Neural Differentiation of Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells

While adult stem cells can be induced to transdifferentiate into multiple lineages of cells or tissues, their plasticity and utility for human therapy remains controversial. In this chapter, we describe methods for the transdifferentiation of human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) along neural lineages using in vitro and in vivo systems. The in vitro neural differentiation of ASCs has been reported by several groups using serum-free cytokine induction, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) chemical induction, and neurosphere formation in combination with the cytokines, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). For in vivo neurogenic induction, ASCs are treated with BDNF and bFGF to form neurospheres in vitro and then delivered directly to the brain. In this chapter, several detailed protocols for the effective neurogenic induction of ASCs in vitro and in vivo are described. The protocols described herein can be applied to further molecular and mechanistic studies of neurogenic induction and differentiation of ASCs. In addition, these methods can be useful for differentiating ASCs for therapeutic intervention in central nervous system disorders.