Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the potential to become a limitless source of tissue for cell therapies and drug testing. Specifically, efficient generation of neuronal cells from human ESCs (hESCs) will have a major impact in transplantation therapies to replace aged or diseased neural tissue. This study focuses on better understanding the specific signals directing the differentiation of ESC...

Loss of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) significantly contributes to hearing loss. Otic progenitor cell transplantation is a potential strategy to replace lost SGNs. Understanding how key transcription factors promote SGN differentiation in otic progenitors accelerates efforts for replacement therapies. A pro-neural transcription factor, Neurogenin1 (Neurog1), is essential for SGN development. U...

Cells in the neurogenic region of an insect ectoderm have two alternative fates, making neurons or epidermis. The fates seem to be determined through a laterally inhibitory interaction among cells. That is, initially homogeneous cells are all competent to differentiate into neuroblasts. Once a cell has differentiated as a neuroblast, it inhibits its immediate neighbors from following this pathw...

Rhabdomyoblastic differentiation in a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is termed malignant triton tumor (MTT), a rare neoplasm that poses a diagnostic dilemma in the differential diagnosis of neck masses and portends poor prognosis. We report a sporadic case of MTT of the neck in a 23-year-old female. We present the pathological findings. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the neurog...

Unraveling the mechanisms by which neural stem cells generate distinct cell types remains a central challenge in central nervous system (CNS) biology. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic gene regulation plays an important role in the control of cell growth and differentiation. These epigenetic controls cover a wide spectrum, including the interaction of chromatin remodeling enzymes with n...

introduction: to evaluate the camp -mediated ibmx (3-isobutyle -1-methyl xanthin) and db-camp (dibutyryl camp) effects on differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hescs) into nerve cells were the objectives of this study. methods: we have used royan h1 hesc- derived embryoid bodies with four treatment groups: six days treatment with ibmx (5×10 -4m) and db-camp (10 -9m) (referred to as cam...

In contrast to the adult brain, the adult spinal cord is a non-neurogenic environment. Understanding how to manipulate the spinal cord environment to promote the formation of new neurons is an attractive therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury and disease. The cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) has been implicated as a modulator of neural progenitor cell proliferation and fate specification in t...

Neuronal differentiation is exquisitely controlled both spatially and temporally during nervous system development. Defects in the spatiotemporal control of neurogenesis cause incorrect formation of neural networks and lead to neurological disorders such as epilepsy and autism. The mTOR kinase integrates signals from mitogens, nutrients and energy levels to regulate growth, autophagy and metabo...

Epidemiological studies have shown that arsenic exposure during early embryogenesis can cause reduced weight gain and neurological deficits later on in life. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated that arsenic suppresses neurogenesis and myogenesis. The exact mechanism of how arsenic causes these undesired developmental outcomes is poorly understood, however both skeletal musc...

OBJECTIVES Estrogen is a sexual hormone that has prominent effects on reproductive and non-reproductive tissues. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of estrogen on the proliferation and neural differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) during neurogenic differentiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Isolated human ADSCs were trans-differentiated in neural induction mediu...