Fig. 8. BMP-treated adult SVZ stem cells preferentially differentiate into non-CNS glia. Passaged adult SVZ stem cells were plated at low density, FGF2-expanded for 3 days and then treated with FGF2 ± BMP2 for 7 days. (A) Control cultures generate no SMA⁺ cells; (B) BMP2 co-treatment yields flattened SMA⁺ cells; (C) Percent SMA⁺ cells is decreased in cells from older embyos and adults. (D) Control cultures generate thin, immature GFAP⁺ cells; (E) BMP2 co-treatment yields flattened GFAP⁺ cells; (F) Percent GFAP⁺ cells increases as a function of animal age (F). (G-I) FGF2-expanded cultures and cultures where FGF2 was withdrawn generate infrequent GalC⁺ cells with immature CNS oligodendrocyte morphologies and do not contain p75^NGFR+ cells (G), whereas BMP2 co-treatment yields flattened p75^NGFR+ cells, some of which co-express GalC (H). The percentage of FGF2-BMP2-generated GalC⁺/p75^NGFR+ cells increases as a function of animal age (I). All graphs show mean ± s.e.m., n=3-4. Bar, 20 µm.