通过确定一群特定鼻细胞的胚胎起源，科学家可能帮助一种有前景但是也有问题的再生受损神经系统组织的疗法。此前的研究已经证明了包裹并隔离嗅觉神经的嗅鞘细胞（OECs）在移植到脊髓损伤处之后能刺激神经细胞的修复。

但是尽管嗅鞘细胞（OECs）可以从鼻腔粘膜中培养，这种组织也含有治疗效果更低的外周神经系统细胞，无法把它们与嗅鞘细胞（OECs）区分开来。Clare Baker及其同事对鸟和小鼠使用移植和遗传技术，追踪了嗅鞘细胞（OECs）的神经嵴起源，神经嵴是在早期胚胎发育的一群干细胞。

目前的理论认为嗅鞘细胞（OECs）直接从鼻衬里分化出来。这组作者说，但是这项发现——即与大多数其它外周神经系统细胞类似的嗅鞘细胞（OECs）起源于神经嵴——可能帮助新的研究尝试直接用成年神经嵴干细胞培养嗅鞘细胞（OECs），而这些干细胞存在于毛囊和皮肤中。

英文摘要：

PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1012248107

Neural crest origin of olfactory ensheathing glia
Perrine Barrauda, Anastasia A. Seferiadisa, Luke D. Tysona, Maarten F. Zwarta,1, Heather L. Szabo-Rogersb, Christiana Ruhrbergc, Karen J. Liub, and Clare V. H. Bakera,2

aDepartment of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DY, United Kingdom;
bDepartment of Craniofacial Development, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, United Kingdom; and
cUniversity College London Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, United Kingdom

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are a unique class of glial cells with exceptional translational potential because of their ability to support axon regeneration in the central nervous system. Although OECs are similar in many ways to immature and nonmyelinating Schwann cells, and can myelinate large-diameter axons indistinguishably from myelination by Schwann cells, current dogma holds that OECs arise from the olfactory epithelium. Here, using fate-mapping techniques in chicken embryos and genetic lineage tracing in mice, we show that OECs in fact originate from the neural crest and hence share a common developmental heritage with Schwann cells. This explains the similarities between OECs and Schwann cells and overturns the existing dogma on the developmental origin of OECs. Because neural crest stem cells persist in adult tissue, including skin and hair follicles, our results also raise the possibility that patient-derived neural crest stem cells could in the future provide an abundant and accessible source of autologous OECs for cell transplantation therapy for the injured central nervous system.