Objective To establish a better method of isolating andculturing ofneural stem cells(NSCs) in neonatal rat brain. Methods Tissue of brain was isolated from neonatal rats. Different medium and culture concentration were used toculture NSCs of neonatal rat. The culture concentration used were 1×10 4, 1×105, 1×106and 1×107/ml respectively. Ingredient of medium was classified into group 1 to 8 respectively according to whether to add 2% B27, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) as well as the difference in culture concentration. The cells were induced to differentiate asto be confirmed as NSCs, and then were checked by phase contrast microscopy and identified by immunocytochemistry. Results The cells isolated and cultured gathered into neurospheres. The cells were capable of proliferating and maintaining longterm survival in vitro. The cells could be differentiated into neurons and glia.It was to the benefit of the survival of NSCs to add 5% fetal bovine serum(FBS)into the medium at the beginning of the culturing. When 10% FBS was added intothe medium, the neurospheres differentiated quickly. When concentration 1×106/ ml was used, the growth rate of the cells was the highest of all the concentrations. Reasonably higher cell concentration promoted the proliferation of NSCs. It was necessary to add 2% B27, EGF, and bFGF into the medium. The cells had the best growth when 2% B27, 20 ng/ml bFGF and 20 ng/ml EGF were added into the culture medium. EGF and bFGF had cooperative effect. Conclusion A better method of isolating and culturing of NSCs in neonatal rat brain is established and the foundation for future research is laid.
Objective To observe whether Nogo-66 can inhibit the neurite outgrowth during the neuronal differentiation of the neural stem cells (NSCs) and remove such an inhibitory effect by the small interfering RNA (siRNA) mediated knockdown of the Nogo66 receptor (NgR). Methods NSCs derived from the rat spinal cord were collected, and were cultured by the suspension culture in vitro. NSCs were transfected by siRNA to knock downtheexpression of NgR. Immunofluorescence and Western blot were used to assess the knockdown efficiency. NSCs were divided into four groups and differentiated in the medium containing 10% FBS. In the control group, no intervention was applied to NSCs; in the Nogo-P4 group, NSCs were differentiated in the presence of Nogo-P4 (active segment of Nogo-66); in the siRNA group, NSCs were transfected by siRNA to knock down NgR before they were differentiated; in the siRNA and Nogo-P4 group, NSCs were transfected by siRNA to knock down NgR before they were differentiated in presence of Nogo-P4. The differentiated neurons were labeled by immunofluorescence, and the neurite length was measured by the ImagePro Plus 5.0 software. The differentiation of the neurite length was compared in each group. Results The suspension-cultured cells became the nerve bulb, which could positively expresses Nestin by immunofluorescence. At 1 week of the differentiation in the medium containing 10% FBS, the positively-labeled neuron specific enolase, the glial fibrillary acidic protein, and the myelin basic protein were observed. Both immunofluorescence and Western blot approved that the expression of NgR was knocked down by transfection of siRNA at 24 hours after the transfection. The knockdown efficiency was 90.35%±3.10%. The neurite length was 97.80±6.97 μm, 80.54±6.75 μm,92.14±7.27 μm, and 94.01±8.37 μm in the control group, the Nogo-P4 group, the siRNA group, and the siRNA and Nogo-P4 group, respectively. The Nogo-P4 group had a significant difference when compared with the otherthree groups (Plt;0.01), and the other three groups had no significant difference when compared with each other（Pgt;0.05）. ConclusionNogo-66 can inhibit the neuronal neurite outgrowth during the differentiation ofNSCs. Such an inhibitory effect can be removed by the siRNA mediated knockdown of NgR.
【Abstract】 Objective To review the progress in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) by graft of neuralstem cells (NSCs) or bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) as well as immune characteristics of two stemcells. Methods Different kinds of documents were widely collected, and then immunologic characteristics of NSCs andBMSCs were summarized. The therapy of SCI by stem cell transplantation was reviewed. Additionally, some problems intreatment were analyzed. Results Experimental study showed that graft of NSCs and BMSCs can promote the functionalrecovery of the injured spinal cord in animals. Due to immunologic properties of two stem cells, rejection reaction oftransplantation could produce a harmful effect on SCI treatment. Conclusion Transplantation of NSCs or BMSCs might bean effective measure for SCI treatment, but immunologic rejection reaction must be considered.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of serum on the differentiation of neural stem cells.MethodsThe neural stem cells were isolated from the embryonic hippocampus tissues of Sprague Dawley rats at 14 day of pregnancy. After culturing and passaging, the 3rd generation cells were identified by immunocytochemical staining. Then, the cells were divided into 3 groups according to the concentrations of fetal bovine serum (FBS) used in the differentiation cell culture medium: 5% (group A), 1% (group B), 0 (group C), respectively. The other components of the culture media in 3 groups were the same. Cell viability was determined by using the Live/Dead cell staining at 8 days; the expressions of glial cell marker [glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)] and neuronal marker (β-Ⅲ Tubulin) were determined and analyzed by immunocytochemical staining and real-time fluorescent PCR at 4 and 8 days of culture.ResultsBased on cell morphology and immunocytochemical staining, neural stem cells were identified. Cells were growing well with no death in all groups. With decreasing FBS concentration, the expression of GFAP was significantly decreased on both protein and mRNA level, whereas the expression of β-Ⅲ Tubulin was evidently increased. The staining of each group at 8 days was more obvious than that at 4 days. There were significant differences in mRNA expressions of GFAP and β-Ⅲ Tubulin at 4 and 8 days between groups (P<0.05).ConclusionSerum can promote the differentiation of neural stem cells into glial cells. At the same time, it inhibits the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons, the lower the serum concentration, the smaller the effect.
ObjectiveTo observe the morphological and functional changes of retinal degeneration in mice with CLN7 neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis, and the therapeutic effects of glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and/or ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) based on neural stem cells (NSC) on mouse photoreceptor cells. MethodsA total of 100 CLN7 mice aged 14 days were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group, with 80 and 20 mice respectively. Twenty C57BL/6J mice aged 14 days were assigned as wild-type group (WT group). Mice in control group and WT group did not receive any interventions. At 2, 4, and 6 months of age, immunohistochemical staining was conducted to examine alterations in the distribution and quantity of cones, rod-bipolar cells, and cone-bipolar cells within the retinal of mice while electroretinography (ERG) examination was utilized to record scotopic a and b-waves and photopic b-wave amplitudes. At 14 days of age, the mice in the experimental group were intravitreally injected with 2 μl of CNTF-NSC, GDNF-NSC, and a 1:1 cell mixture of CNTF-NSC and GDNF-NSC (GDNF/CNTF-NSC). Those mice were then subdivided into the CNTF-NSC group, the GDNF-NSC group, and the GDNF/CNTF-NSC group accordingly. The contralateral eyes of the mice were injected with 2 μl of control NSC without neurotrophic factor (NTF) as their own control group. At 2 and 4 months of age, the rows of photoreceptor cells in mice was observed by immunohistochemical staining while ERG was performed to record amplitudes. At 4 months of age, the differentiation of grafted NSC and the expression of NTF were observed. Statistical comparisons between the groups were performed using a two-way ANOVA. ResultsCompared with WT group, the density of cones in the peripheral region of the control group at 2, 4 and 6 months of age (F=285.10), rod-bipolar cell density in central and peripheral retina (F=823.20, 346.20), cone-bipolar cell density (F=356.30, 210.60) and the scotopic amplitude of a and b waves (F=1 911.00, 387.10) in central and peripheral retina were significantly decreased, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). At the age of 4 and 6 months, the density of retinal cone cells (F=127.30) and b-wave photopic amplitude (F=51.13) in the control group were significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that the NSC transplanted in the experimental group preferentially differentiated into astrocytes, and stably expressed CNTF and GDNF at high levels. Comparison of retinal photoreceptor nucleus lines in different treatment subgroups of the experimental group at different ages: CNTF-NSC group, at 2 months of age: the whole, central and peripheral regions were significantly different (F=31.73, 75.06, 75.06; P＜0.05); 4 months of age: The difference between the whole area and the peripheral region was statistically significant (F=12.27, 12.27; P＜0.05). GDNF/CNTF-NSC group, 2 and 4 months of age: the whole (F=27.26, 27.26) and the peripheral area (F=16.01, 13.55) were significantly different (P＜0.05). In GDNF-NSC group, there was no statistical significance at all in the whole, central and peripheral areas at different months of age (F=0.00, 0.01, 0.02; P＞0.05). ConclusionsCLN7 neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis mice exhibit progressively increasing degenerative alterations in photoreceptor cells and bipolar cells with age growing, aligning with both morphological and functional observations. Intravitreal administration of stem cell-based CNTF as well as GDNF/CNTF show therapeutic potential in rescuing photoreceptor cells. Nevertheless, the combined application of GDNF/CNTF-NSC do not demonstrate the anticipated synergistic protective effect. GDNF has no therapeutic effect on the retinal morphology and function in CLN7 neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis mice.
ObjectiveTo investigate the behavioral recovery of spinal cord injury (SCI) rats that received transplantation of NEP1-40 gene-modified neural stem cells. MethodsNeural stem cells (NSCs) were derived from the cortex tissue of rat embryo at the age of 18 days and identified by Nestin immunofluorescence. The lentiviruses were transduced to NSCs to construct NEP1-40 gene modified NSCs. Spinal cords of 30 Sprague-Dawley rats were hemisected at the nineth thoracic vertebrae level. The rats were randomly assigned to three groups. Cell culture medium, NSCs and NEP1-40 gene-modified NSCs were transplanted into the lesion site of rats of SCI group, NSCs group and NEP1-40-NSCs group respectively 7 days after injury. Additional 10 rats served as blank control group (sham group), which only received laminectomy. Following transplantation, behavior tests including Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) Locomotor Rating Scale and grid test were utilized to evaluate spinal cord functional recovery. ResultsBehavior tests 8 weeks after cells transplantation showed that the rats in SCI group got worst results, the BBB scores improved and the grid drop times reduced significantly in NSCs transplantation group (P<0.01) and behavioral test outcomes were best in the NEP1-40 gene-modified NSCs group (P<0.01). ConclusionNEP1-40 gene modification can significantly improve the behavioral recovery of SCI rats that received transplantation of pure neural stem cells. It can provide a new idea and reliable experimental base for the study of NSCs transplantation for spinal cord injury.
Neural stem cell is a kind of stem cells that can differentiate into neural and glial cells. While Müller cells, the main endogenous neural stem cell in retina,have the features to reentry into the cell cycle and differentiate into neural cells after retinal damage. Although it is highly effective for retinal Müller cell differentiation spontaneously after retinal injury in vertebrates, this feature is rigorous restricted in mammals. Recently, some transcription factors,such as Ascl1, Sox2, Lin28, Atoh7, are sufficient to drive quiescent Müller cells back in proliferation to generate new retinal neurons. Moreover, combining Ascl1 expression with a histone deacetylase inhibitor can bypass the limitation and increase the generation of new neurons in the adult retina. These regenerated neurons integrate the existing neuronal network and are able to respond to light, indicating that they can likely be used to restore vision. While these results are extremely promising, the regenerative response is still limited, likely because the proliferative capacity of mammalian Müller cells is low compared to their zebrafish counterparts. It is indeed necessary to identify new factors increasing the efficiency of the regenerative response.
To summarize Notch, basic hel ix-loop-hel ix (bHLH) and Wnt gene signal transduction pathways in the process of differentiation and development of neural stem cells. Methods The l iterature on the gene signal transduction pathway in the process of differentiation and development of neural stem cells was searched and then summarized and analyzed. Results The formation of Nervous System resulted from common actions of multi-signal transduction pathways. There may exist a fixed threshold in the compl icated selective system among Notch, bHLH and Wnt gene signal transduction pathways. Conclusion At present, the specific gene signal transduction pathway of multi pl ication and differentiation of neural stem cells is still unclear.
Objective To observe the delaying effect of neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation on denervated muscle atrophy after peri pheral nerve injury, and to investigate its mechanism. Methods NSCs were separated from the spinal cords of green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic rats aged 12-14 days mechanically and were cultured and induced to differentiate in vitro. Thirty-two F344 rats, aged 2 months and weighed (180 ± 20) g, were randomized into two groups (n=16 per group). The animal models of denervated musculus triceps surae were establ ished by transecting right tibial nerve and commom peroneal nerve 1.5 cm above the knee joints. In the experimental and the control group, 5 μL of GFP-NSCsuspension and 5 μL of culture supernatant were injected into the distal stump of the tibial nerve, respectivel. The generalcondition of rats after operation was observed. At 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively, the wet weight of right musculus tricepssurae was measured, the HE staining, the Mallory trichrome staining and the postsynaptic membrane staining were adopted for the histological observation. Meanwhile, the section area of gastrocnemius fiber and the area of postsynaptic membrane were detected by image analysis software and statistical analysis. Results The wounds in both groups of animals healed by first intension, no ulcer occurred in the right hind l imbs. At 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively, the wet weight of right musculus triceps surae was (0.849 ± 0.064) g and (0.596 ± 0.047) g in the experimental group, respectively, and was (0.651 ± 0.040) g and (0.298 ± 0.016) g in the control group, respectively, showing a significant difference (P lt; 0.05). The fiber section area of the gastrocnemius was 72.55% ± 8.12% and 58.96% ± 6.07% in the experimental group, respectively, and was 50.23% ± 4.76% and 33.63% ± 4.41% in the control group, respectively. There were significant differences between them (P lt; 0.05). Mallory trichrome staining of muscle notified that there was more collagen fiber hyperplasia of denervated gastrocnemius in the control group than that in the experimental group at 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively. After 12 weeks of operation, the area of postsynaptic membrane in the experimental group was (137.29 ± 29.14) μm2, which doubled that in the control group as (61.03 ± 11.38) μm2 and was closer to that in normal postsynaptic membrane as (198.63 ± 23.11) μm2, showing significant differences (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion The transplantation in vivo of allogenic embryonic spinal cord NSCs is capable of delaying denervated muscle atrophy and maintaining the normal appearance of postsynaptic membrane, providing a new approach to prevent and treat the denervated muscle atrophy cl inically.
Objective To investigate the division, prol iferation and differentiation abil ities of nestin+/GFAP+cell after spinal cord injury and to identify whether it has the characteristic of neural stem cells (NSCs). Methods Twelvemale SD rats, aged 8 weeks and weighing 200-250 g, were randomized into 2 groups (n=6 per group): model group inwhich the spinal cord injury model was establ ished by aneurysm cl ip compression method, and control group in which no processing was conducted. At 5 days after model ing, T8 spinal cord segment of rats in each group were obtained and the gray and the white substance of spinal cord outside the ependymal region around central tube were isolated to prepare single cellsuspension. Serum-free NSCs culture medium was adopted to culture and serum NSCs culture medium was appl ied to induce differentiation. Immunohistochemistry detection and flow cytometry were appl ied to observe and analyze the type of cells and their capabil ity of division, prol iferation and differentiation. Results At 3-7 days after injury, the model group witnessed a plenty of nestin+/GFAP+ cells in the single cell suspension, while the control group witnessed few. Cell count of the model and the control group was 5.15 ± 0.71 and 1.12 ± 0.38, respectively, indicating there was a significant difference between two groups (P lt; 0.01). Concerning cell cycle, the proportion of S-phase cell and prol iferation index of the model group (15.49% ± 3.04%, 15.88% ± 2.56%) were obviously higher than those of the control group (5.84% ± 0.28%, 6.47% ± 0.61%), indicating there were significant differences between two groups (P lt; 0.01). In the model group, primary cells gradually formed threedimensional cell clone spheres, which were small in size, smooth in margin, protruding in center and positive for nestin immunofluorescence staining, and large amounts of cell clone spheres were harvested after multi ple passages. While in the control group, no obvious cell clone spheres was observed in the primary and passage culture of single cell suspension. At 5 days after induced differentiation of cloned spheres in the model group, immunofluorescence staining showed there were a number of galactocerebroside (GaLC) -nestin+ cells; at 5-7 days, there were abundance of β-tubul in III-nestin+ and GFAP-nestin+ cells; and at 5-14 days, GaLC+ ol igodendrocyte, β-tubul in II+ neuron and GalC+ cell body and protruding were observed. Conclusion Nestin+/GFAP+ cells obtained by isolating the gray and the white substance of spinal cord outside the ependymal region around central tube after compressive spinal cord injury in adult rat has the abil ity of self-renewal and the potential of multi-polarization and may be a renewable source of NSCs in the central nervous system.