Hypothalamic stem cells: towards a cellular approach to neuroendocrine diseases?

The mammalian hypothalamus is involved in regulating numerous physiological functions; however, the molecular pathways that mediate hypothalamic development are largely unknown. The study of neural stem cells (NSC) offers a useful model to investigate such mechanisms. Neurospheres of NSC from both fetal and adult rat hypothalami able to differentiate into glia and neurons with neuroendocrine markers, have been recently isolated. However, we have setup a stable cell line of NSC from E12 fetal mouse hypothalamus. The cell line (AC1) grows as a monolayer in a defined medium enriched in FGF-2 and EGF. AC1 cells express stemness, neuronal, but not astrocytic markers. The study on AC1 cells has been focused on the expression of hypothalamic patterning genes and the ability to develop neuroendocrine lineages in vitro. AC1 cells may therefore help to elucidate specific physiological hypothalamic processes and offer a valuable tool to develop a future cellular approach to neuroendocrine disorders (i.e., diabetes insipidus, obesity, Prader-Willi syndrome, etc.).