AUTHOR=Luo Zhangrong , Shangguan Zeyu , Cao Liang , Zhang Yi , Li Qizhe , Shi Xuexing , Fu Jiangquan , Wang Chunqing , Dou Xiaowei , Tan Wei , Li Qing 

TITLE=Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons: a promising source for adult neural stem cell transplantation in spinal cord injury treatment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1549194

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2025.1549194

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=Transplantation of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) is regarded as one of the most promising approaches for treating spinal cord injury (SCI). However, securing a sufficient and reliable source of adult NSCs remains one of the primary challenges in applying this method for SCI treatment. Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) act as adult NSCs and can be substantially expanded in vitro while maintaining their NSC characteristics even after 60 passages. When CSF-cNs are transplanted into the injury sites of SCI mice, they demonstrate high survival rates along with the ability to proliferate and differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Additionally, significant improvements in motor function have been observed in SCI mice following the transplantation of CSF-cNs. These results suggest that CSF-cNs may represent a promising source of adult NSCs for transplantation therapy in SCI.