Methods for obtaining pluripotent adult olfactory stem cells from an olfactory mucosa tissue

A method for obtaining a plurality of pluripotent adult olfactory stem cells (APOSCs), the method comprising:

• i. isolating the APOSCs, comprising:
• (a) obtaining an olfactory tissue of a mammal;
• (b) culturing the olfactory mucosa tissue obtained from step (a) in a medium containing Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/F12 (DMEM/F12 medium), heparin, bFGF, EGF and an antibiotic for 5-7 days to allow for migration of the cells from the cultured tissue;
• and
• (c) isolating adherent cells from step (b);
• ii. culturing the isolated APOSCs in a sphere culture medium comprising DMEM/F12 medium, B27 supplement, bFGF, EGF and an antibiotic;
• and
• iii. collecting the cultured APOSCs that express Bmi-1 (B-lymphoma moloney murine leukemia virus insertion region-1), Oct-4 (Octamer-binding transcription factor 4), Sox-2 (Sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box 2), Nanog, SSEA-4 (Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4), ki67, c-Myc, KLF-4 (Kruppel Like Factor 4), K14 (Cytokeratin 14) and ICAM-1 (Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1).