title: Growth factors released from gelatin hydrogel microspheres increase new neurons in the adult mouse brain.
abstract: Recent studies have shown that new neurons are continuously generated by endogenous neural stem cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the adult mammalian brain. Some of these new neurons migrate to injured brain tissues and differentiate into mature neurons, suggesting that such new neurons may be able to replace neurons lost to degenerative disease or injury and improve or repair neurological deficits. Here, we tested whether delivering growth factors via gelatin hydrogel microspheres would support neurogenesis in the SVZ. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)-containing microspheres increased the number of new neurons in the SVZ. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-containing microspheres increased the number of new neurons migrating from the SVZ towards the injured striatum in a stroke model in mouse. These results suggest that the strategy of using gelatin hydrogel microspheres to achieve the sustained release of growth factors holds promise for the clinical regeneration of damaged brain tissues from endogenous neural stem cells in the adult SVZ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi 467-8601, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanako
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakaguchi
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jinnou
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hikita
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Kazunobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawamoto