title: Wnt signaling pathway participates in valproic acid-induced neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells.
abstract: Neural stem cells (NSCs) are multipotent cells that have the capacity for differentiation into the major cell types of the nervous system, i.e. neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely prescribed drug for seizures and bipolar disorder in clinic. Previously, a number of researches have been shown that VPA has differential effects on growth, proliferation and differentiation in many types of cells. However, whether VPA can induce NSCs from embryonic cerebral cortex differentiate into neurons and its possible molecular mechanism is also not clear. Wnt signaling is implicated in the control of cell growth and differentiation during CNS development in animal model, but its action at the cellular level has been poorly understood. In this experiment, we examined neuronal differentiation of NSCs induced by VPA culture media using vitro immunochemistry assay. The neuronal differentiation of NSCs was examined after treated with 0.75 mM VPA for three, seven and ten days. RT-PCR assay was employed to examine the level of Wnt-3α and β-catenin. The results indicated that there were more β-tublin III positive cells in NSCs treated with VPA medium compared to the control group. The expression of Wnt-3α and β-catenin in NSCs treated with VPA medium was significantly greater compared to that of control media. In conclusion, these findings indicated that VPA could induce neuronal differentiation of NSCs by activating Wnt signal pathway.
authors.affiliation: The 3rd Department of Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury Chongqing 400042, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The 3rd Department of Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury Chongqing 400042, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The 3rd Department of Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury Chongqing 400042, PR China.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The 3rd Department of Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury Chongqing 400042, PR China.
authors.forename: Zai-Yun
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: The 3rd Department of Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury Chongqing 400042, PR China.
authors.forename: Ya-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014635:Valproic Acid
keywords: Wnt-3α; differentiation; neural stem cells; valproic acid; β-catenin