The co-transduction of Nurr1 and Brn4 genes induces the differentiation of neural stem cells into dopaminergic neurons

Autor: Meiling Tian, Xue‑Feng Tan, Guohua Jin, Hui‑Xia Zhu, Haoming Li, Lei Zhang, Jianbing Qin
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cell Biology International. 35:1217-1223
ISSN: 1095-8355
1065-6995
DOI: 10.1042/cbi20110028
Popis: Fetal brain tissue can be used in cell replacement therapy for PD (Parkinson's disease), but there is a poor donor supply of this tissue. NSCs (neural stem cells) may overcome this problem as they can be isolated and expanded in vitro. However, the usage of NSCs is limited because the differentiation of NSCs into specific dopaminergic neurons has proven difficult. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Nurr1 (nuclear receptor related factor 1), a transcription factor specific for the development and maintenance of the midbrain dopaminergic neurons on inducing the differentiation of NSCs into TH (tyrosine hydroxylase) immunoreactive dopaminergic neurons. Nonetheless, these cells exhibited an immature neuronal morphology with small cell bodies and short neurite processes, and they seldom expressed DAT (dopamine transporter), a late marker of mature dopaminergic neurons. However, forced co-expression of Nurr1 with Brn4, a member of the POU domain family of transcription factors, caused immature Nurr1-induced dopaminergic neurons to differentiate into morphologically and phenotypically more mature neurons. Thus the enriched generation of mature dopaminergic neurons by forced expression of Nurr1 with Brn4 may be of future importance in NSC-based cell replacement therapy for PD.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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