GENERATION OF NEURAL STEM CELLS FROM HUMAN TROPHOBLAST STEM CELLS

1 . A method of screening a compound for use in the treatment of a neurological disorder, comprising:

a. contacting an isolated human neural stem cell with the compound, wherein the isolated human neural stem cell expresses caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2), Nanog, neurogenin-3 (Ngn3), retinoic acid receptor beta (RARβ), retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRα), retinoid X receptor beta (RXRβ), retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH-2), and retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 3 (RALDH-3) proteins, wherein the isolated human neural stem cell has a low level of expression or an absence of expression of CD33 or CD133 cell surface proteins as compared to an isolated human trophoblast stem cell; and

b. detecting an increase or a decrease in an activity of at least one gene, transcript, or protein in the isolated human neural stem cell;

wherein the increase or decrease in the activity of at least one gene, transcript, or protein is indicative that the compound is useful in treatment of the neurological disorder; and

wherein the method is in vivo or ex vivo.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the human neural stem cell is cultured in conditioned medium.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the human neural stem cell is cultured under serum-free, low-density conditions in the presence or absence of LIF, in the presence of a modulator, or in the presence or absence of retinoic acid (RA).

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the modulator is a neural stem cell gene modulator.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activity of at least one gene, transcript, or protein in the human neural stem cell decreases as compared to a human neural stem cell not contacted with the compound.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activity of at least one gene, transcript, or protein in the human neural stem cell increases as compared to a human neural stem cell not contacted with the compound.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the increase or decrease in activity is detected for at least one gene.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the increase or decrease in activity is detected for at least one transcript.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the increase or decrease in activity is detected for at least one protein.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the human neural stem cell has a phenotype of a dopamine-producing cell, a dopaminergic neuron, a unipolar neuron, a bipolar neuron, a multipolar neuron, a glutaminergic neuron, a serotonergic neuron, a GABAergic (gamma aminobutyric acid) neuron, a pyramidal cell, a Purkinje cell, an anterior horn cell, a basket cell, a Betz cell, a Renshaw cell, a granule cell, a GRP cell, a NRP cell, a MNS cell, an AST cell, a TGC cell, or a medium spiny cell.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the human neural stem cell has one or more neuronal characteristics that comprise the expression of dopamine, subunits of a glutamate NMDA receptor, synapsin I, a calcium channel marker, GAP-43, a voltage-dependent K+ channel, a voltage-dependent Ca+ channel, or a voltage-dependent Na+ channel.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining any phenotypic or metabolic changes in the cell that result from contact with the compound and correlating the change with cellular toxicity or any other change in cell function or biochemistry.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least two compounds are screened.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least two compounds are contacted with the isolated human neural stem cell either simultaneously or sequentially.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the compound is a pharmaceutical, toxin, potential modulator of differentiation, small molecule drug, peptide, or polypeptide, or a combination thereof.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a pharmaceutical.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a toxin.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a potential modulator of differentiation.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a small molecule drug.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a peptide.

21 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the compound is a polypeptide.

22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the neurological disorder is Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Friedrich's ataxia, Lewy body disease, spinal muscular dystrophy, multiple system atrophy, dementia, schizophrenia, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, a spinal cord injury, a brain injury, a cranial nerve disorder, a peripheral sensory neuropathy, epilepsy, a prion disorder, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alper's disease, cerebellar/spinocerebellar degeneration, Batten disease, corticobasal degeneration, Bell's palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Pick's disease, or autism.

23 . A method of inducing or promoting a stem cell to differentiate into a cell with reduced immunogenicity, comprising:

a. contacting the stem cell with an induction drug;

b. modulating PIP2 or one or more proteins with the induction drug in the stem cell, wherein the one or more proteins comprise WNT2B, FZD6, DVL3, FRAT1, GSK3β, HDAC6, β-catenin, Gα q/11 , Gβ, RXRα, RARβ, GluR1, PI3K, AKT1, AKT2, AKT3, mTOR, EIF4EBP, CREB1, TH (tyrosine hydroxylase), PLC-β, CaMKII, EIF4B, parkin, SNCA, tubulin, calcineurin, CRMP-2, NFAT1, importin, LEF1, PITX2, MEF2A, or EP300; and

c. inducing or promoting the stem cell to differentiate into a cell with reduced immunogenicity.

24 . A method of treating a neurological disorder in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering at least one neural stem cell to the subject, wherein the neural stem cell is immune-privileged.

25 . An isolated neural stem cell, wherein said isolated neural stem cell is derived from a stem cell obtained from trophoblast tissue.

26 . An isolated neural stem cell, wherein the isolated neural stem cell expresses transcripts for one or more of CDX2, Nanog, Ngn3, Neo-D, RARβ, RXRα, RXRβ, CRABP-2, CRBP-1, RALDH-2, and RALDH-3.