The gene expression profile of PDGF-treated neural stem cells corresponds to partially differentiated neurons and glia.
We have previously shown that platelet-derived growth factor AA (PDGF-AA) stimulates the expansion of neuronal progenitors from neural stem cells, but is unable to replace fibroblast-growth factor 2 (FGF-2) as a stem cell mitogen. In the present study, we compared gene expression in neural stem cells that were grown in the presence of FGF-2 and in cells cultured with PDGF-AA or in the absence of growth factor, which induces differentiation. The genetic program elicited by PDGF-AA (156 significantly regulated genes) was not unique, but an intermediate between the ones of FGF-2-cultured stem cells and differentiated cells. These observations are compatible with the hypothesis that PDGF-AA induces a partial differentiation of neural stem cells, which retain the ability to proliferate, rather than acting solely as an instructing agent for neuronal differentiation. Finally, the transcriptional signature of stem cells grown with FGF-2 included a large number of genes over-expressed in gliomas and a core set of conserved genes periodically expressed during the eukaryote cell cycle.
Demoulin
Jean-Baptiste
JB
MEXP Unit, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. jean-baptiste.demoulin@mexp.ucl.ac.be
Enarsson
Mia
M
Larsson
Jimmy
J
Essaghir
Ahmed
A
Heldin
Carl-Henrik
CH
Forsberg-Nilsson
Karin
K
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D019579:Neocortex / Q000196:embryology*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; C075278:platelet-derived growth factor A; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2