Schwann cells can be reprogrammed to multipotency by culture

Adult neural crest related-stem cells persist in adulthood, making them an ideal and easily accessible source of multipotent cells for potential clinical use. Recently, we reported the presence of neural crest-related stem cells within adult palatal ridges, thus raising the question of their localization in their endogenous niche. Using immunocytochemistry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and correlative fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy, we identified myelinating Schwann cells within palatal ridges as a putative neural crest stem cell source. Palatal Schwann cells expressed nestin, p75(NTR), and S100. Correlative fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy revealed the exclusive nestin expression within myelinating Schwann cells. Palatal neural crest stem cells and nestin-positive Schwann cells isolated from adult sciatic nerves were able to grow under serum-free conditions as neurospheres in presence of FGF-2 and EGF. Spheres of palatal and sciatic origin showed overlapping expression pattern of neural crest stem cell and Schwann cell markers. Expression of the pluripotency factors Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc, Oct4, the NF-κB subunits p65, p50, and the NF-κB-inhibitor IκB-β were up-regulated in conventionally cultivated sciatic nerve Schwann cells and in neurosphere cultures. Finally, neurospheres of palatal and sciatic origin were able to differentiate into ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal cell types emphasizing their multipotency. Taken together, we show that nestin-positive myelinating Schwann cells can be reprogrammed into multipotent adult neural crest stem cells under appropriate culture conditions.

Generation of Schwann cell-derived multipotent neurospheres isolated from intact sciatic nerve

Schwann cells (SCs) are the supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system and originate from the neural crest. They play a unique role in the regeneration of injured peripheral nerves and have themselves a highly unstable phenotype as demonstrated by their unexpectedly broad differentiation potential. Thus, SCs can be considered as dormant, multipotent neural crest-derived progenitors or stem cells. Upon injury they de-differentiate via cellular reprogramming, re-enter the cell cycle and participate in the regeneration of the nerve. Here we describe a protocol for efficient generation of neurospheres from intact adult rat and murine sciatic nerve without the need of experimental in vivo pre-degeneration of the nerve prior to Schwann cell isolation. After isolation and removal of the connective tissue, the nerves are initially plated on poly-D-lysine coated cell culture plates followed by migration of the cells up to 80% confluence and a subsequent switch to serum-free medium leading to formation of multipotent neurospheres. In this context, migration of SCs from the isolated nerve, followed by serum-free cultivation of isolated SCs as neurospheres mimics the injury and reprograms fully differentiated SCs into a multipotent, neural crest-derived stem cell phenotype. This protocol allows reproducible generation of multipotent Schwann cell-derived neurospheres from sciatic nerve through cellular reprogramming by culture, potentially marking a starting point for future detailed investigations of the de-differentiation process.

Os elos entre a filosofia e a educação no pensamento de Theodor W. Adorno

Este artigo aborda as relações entre a filosofia e a educação no pensamento de Theodor Adorno. A partir da reflexão elaborada pelo frankfurtiano acerca da relação entre teoria e práxis, procuramos compreender o papel político conferido às suas concepções de filosofia e de formação humana e discutir os seus limites e possibilidades no presente. Para tanto, elegemos como objeto de análise as conferências pronunciadas pelo autor e os artigos que escreveu sobre o assunto, entre 1959 e 1969, com o objetivo de recuperar os possíveis nexos teóricos entre filosofia e educação em sua obra e o significado que seu pensamento crítico e sua concepção de educação política assumiram nesse contexto; e de discutir sua eventual atualidade. Pretendemos, assim, reconstituir a reflexão de Adorno sobre o tema, compreendendo o seu significado em seu projeto filosófico, de modo a vislumbrar a face filosófica educacional de seu pensamento crítico.

A crítica de Theodor W. Adorno ao tédio: homem e cultura danificados

Pós-graduação em Filosofia - FFC

Formação e semiformação nos escritos educacionais de Theodor Adorno

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

A arte de educar entre a mimese e o sublime: considerações a partir de Theodor W. Adorno e Jean François Lyotard

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Theodor Adorno e Hannah Arendt: confluências no campo da filosofia da educação

The aim of this paper is to analyze the confluences between the thinking of philosophers Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt in critiquing totalitarianism and fascism in the post-World War II period. Looking for approximation between the works of both philosophers, the most relevant aspects of this criticism for the philosophy of education will be explicited.

Mesenchymal stem cells engrafted in a fibrin scaffold stimulate Schwann cell reactivity and axonal regeneration following sciatic nerve tubulization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

O papel da memória nas ramificações da cultura em Theodor W. Adorno e Walter Benjamin

A memória foi uma temática importante dentro das reflexões da Escola de Frankfurt. O objetivo do presente trabalho é esmiuçar as considerações de Theodor W. Adorno em torno do papel da articulação do passado na vida cotidiana e das suas materializações na cultura, bem como comparar essa linha de pensamento com a de Walter Benjamin, outro teórico que se debruçou demoradamente sobre este tema. Compararemos a forma como os dois autores focalizam a memória, bem como o papel que cada um deles atribui à cultura enquanto materialização do decorrido. Os dois autores forneceram respostas diferentes para a pergunta “o que significa elaborar o passado”. São justamente as aproximações e os afastamentos entre um e outro o que procuraremos estudar neste trabalho.