title: Hepatocyte growth factor promotes proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells from mouse embryos.
abstract: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), originally cloned as a hepatocyte mitogen, has recently been reported to exhibit neurotrophic activity in addition to being expressed in different parts of the nervous system. At present, the effects of HGF on neural stem cells (NSCs) are not known. In this study, we first report the promoting effect of HGF on the proliferation of neurospheres and neuronal differentiation of NSCs. Medium containing only HGF was capable of inducing neurosphere formation. Addition of HGF to medium containing fibroblast growth factor 2 or epidermal growth factor increased both the size and number of newly formed neurospheres. More neurons were also obtained when HGF was added in differentiation medium. In contrast, neurosphere numbers were reduced after repeated subculture by mechanical dissociation, suggesting that HGF-formed neurospheres comprised predominantly progenitor cells committed to neuronal or glial lines. Together, these results suggest that HGF promotes proliferation of neurospheres and neuronal differentiation of NSCs derived from mouse embyos.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neuroscience, Gifu University School of Medicine, 40 Tsukasa-machi, Gifu 500-8705, Japan.
authors.forename: Jouji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kokuzawa
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Hideomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitajima
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shinoda
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaku
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwama
authors.forename: Ryuichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimazaki
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunisada
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D005333:Fetus; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor