title: NT-3 gene modified Schwann cells promote TrkC gene modified mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into neuron-like cells in vitro.
abstract: Reports of neuronal differentiation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) suggested the possibility that these cells could serve as a source of treatment for spinal cord injury. However, the percentages of neuron-like cells differentiated from the MSCs were relatively low both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we investigated whether co-culture of human neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene modified Schwann cells (SCs) and human NT-3 receptor tyrosine protein kinase C (TrkC) gene modified MSCs could increase differentiation of neuron-like cells from MSCs. It was shown that MSCs were significantly promoted to differentiate into neuron-like cells, as evidenced immunocytochemically by the expression of neuronal markers, including nestin, beta-III-tubulin, MAP2 and PSD95, 7 days after co-culture. However, the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)--an astrocyte marker in these cells--was not so obvious. These results demonstrate that the binding of overexpressed NT-3 in SCs and its receptor TrkC in MSCs can be considered to stimulate the increased rate of neuronal differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Road, 510080, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Liu-Min
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yuan-Shan
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D020812:Receptor, trkC / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D020812:Receptor, trkC