Common olfactory ensheathing glial markers in the developing human olfactory system

Abstract

The in situ immunocytochemical properties of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) have been well studied in several small to medium sized animal models including rats, mice, guinea pigs, cats and canines. However, we know very little about the antigenic characteristics of OECs in situ within the adult and developing human olfactory bulb and nerve roots. To address this gap in knowledge we undertook an immunocytochemical analysis of the 11–19 pcw human foetal olfactory system. Human foetal OECs in situ possessed important differences compared to rodents in the expression of key surface markers. P75NTR was not observed in OECs but was strongly expressed by human foetal Schwann cells and perineurial olfactory nerve fibroblasts surrounding OECs. We define OECs throughout the 11–19 pcw human olfactory system as S100/vimentin/SOX10+ with low expression of GFAP. Our results suggest that P75NTR is a robust marker that could be utilised with cell sorting techniques to generate enriched OEC cultures by first removing P75NTR expressing Schwann cells and fibroblasts, and subsequently to isolate OECs after P75NTR upregulation in vitro. O4 and PSA-NCAM were not found to be suitable surface antigens for OEC purification owing to their ambiguous and heterogeneous expression. Our results highlight the importance of corroborating cell markers when translating cell therapies from animal models to the clinic.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00429-016-1313-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Olfactory ensheathing cells from the nasal mucosa and olfactory bulb have distinct membrane properties

“…Much of our current understanding of neuroglial interactions comes from structural, molecular, and functional studies of rodent OECs, from either the OM or OB (Guerout et al, 2010;Hayat, Wigley, & Robbins, 2003;Higashi et al, 2001;Piantanida et al, 2019;Rash et al, 2005;Rela, Bordey, & Greer, 2010;Rela, Piantanida, Bordey, & Greer, 2015;Rieger, Deitmer, & Lohr, 2007). Studies of excised human OM tissues have also helped identify common markers in vivo (Choi, Law, Raisman, & Li, 2008;Liu et al, 2010;Oprych, Cotfas, & Choi, 2017).…”

Olfactory ensheathing cells from the nasal mucosa and olfactory bulb have distinct membrane properties

“…Much of our current understanding of neuro-glial interactions comes from structural, molecular and functional studies of rodent OECs, from either the OM or OB (Guerout et al, 2010;Hayat, Wigley, & Robbins, 2003;Piantanida et al, 2019;Rash et al, 2005;Rela, Bordey, & Greer, 2010;Rela, Piantanida, Bordey, & Greer, 2015;Rieger, Deitmer, & Lohr, 2007). Studies of excised human OM tissues have also helped identify common markers in vivo (Choi, Law, Raisman, & Li, 2008;Liu et al, 2010;Oprych, Cotfas, & Choi, 2017).…”

Transplantation of canine olfactory ensheathing cells producing chondroitinase ABC promotes chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan digestion and axonal sprouting following spinal cord injury

“…Protocols are now available for culture of human OECs in view of transplantation [ 48 ]. In our transplantation experiments, we did not find any contaminating fibroblasts, and all cells were p75 NGFR positive, a marker whose utility for OEC purification has been recently highlighted [ 49 ]. Previous cultures using this technique have documented cell purities of around 85% [ 37 ], and the high percentage of p75 NGFR positive cells, presumed to be olfactory ensheathing cells, may be an important contributing factor to facilitating axonal regeneration.…”