background: retinoic acid as one of the most important regulators for cell differentiation was examined in this study for differentiation of human umbilical mesenchymal cells (hucm). methods: after isolation, hucm were evaluated for mesenchymal stem cell properties by flow cytometry and alkaline phosphatase assay. also, doubling time of the cells and their differentiation potential into adipoge...

Neurotrophin receptor-interacting MAGE (NRAGE) is the most recently identified p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) intracellular binding protein. Previously, NRAGE over-expression was shown to mediate cell cycle arrest and facilitate nerve growth factor (NGF) dependent apoptosis of sympathetic neuroblasts in a p75(NTR) specific manner. Here we have examined the temporal and spatial expression ...

The molecular changes underlying neural progenitor differentiation are essentially unknown. We applied cDNA microarrays with 13,627 clones to measure dynamic gene expression changes during the in vitro differentiation of neural progenitor cells that were isolated from the subventricular zone of postnatal day 7 mice and grown in vitro as neurospheres. In two experimental series in which we withd...

A consistent problem with stem/neural progenitor cell transplantation following spinal cord injury (SCI) is poor cell survival and uncontrolled differentiation following transplantation. The current study evaluated the feasibility of enhancing embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitor cell (ESNPC) viability and directing their differentiation into neurons and oligodendrocytes by embedding t...

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by fatal motoric failures induced by loss of striatal medium spiny neurons. Neuronal cell death has been linked to impaired expression and axonal transport of the neurotrophin BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). By transplanting embryonic stem cell-derived neural progenitors overexpressing BDNF, we combined cell replacement and BDNF supply as a p...

We have identified three avian (chicken) Hu/elav family RNA-binding protein genes. cHuD and cHuC are expressed specifically in neurons of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Although cHuA is expressed in a wide variety of tissues, including neurogenic precursor cells, it is transiently down-regulated, and is then re-expressed in maturing neurons. Misexpression of cHuD in cultured n...

in this presentation, we review briefly on biogenesis of peroxisomes with regard to the recent findings on biogenesis. peroxisomes perform a range of various functions as oxidation of very long chain fatty acids, generation and removal of hydrogen peroxide, while peroxisomes have also been implicated in β-oxidation of aromatic and cyclic compounds, synthesis of plasmalogens, isoprenoids, lysine...

conclusions taken together, the combination of chemical and growth factors in the two-step induction protocol may improve the efficiency of msc differentiation into neural progenitor cells, and may be a new method for the easy and fast application of mscs in regenerative medicine in the future. results the results of real-time pcr showed that the expression of the gfap, mbp, and map-2 genes aft...

Reconstruction of neocortical circuitry by transplantation of neural precursors, or by manipulation of endogenous precursors, may depend critically upon both local microenvironmental control signals and the intrinsic competence of populations of precursors to appropriately respond to external molecular controls. Dependence on the developmental state of donor or endogenous precursor cells in ach...