objective: embryonic stem cells (escs) are pluripotent cells capable of extensive proliferation while maintaining their potential to differentiate into any cell type. the therapeutic potential of these cells are promising, but in many cases limited by our inability to promote their differentiation. in this study we examined the effect of inducer factors in direct differentiation of mouse escs i...

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is strongly implicated in the development of ventral structures in the nervous system. Addition of Sonic hedgehog protein to chick spinal cord explants induces floor plate and motoneuron development. Whether Shh acts directly to induce these cell types or whether their induction is mediated by additional factors is unknown. To further investigate the role of Shh in spinal n...

During development and nerve injury, complex interactions between glial cells and neurons are essential for establishing proper nerve function. Neurotrophins play multiple roles in the developing nervous system, including cell survival, growth, and differentiation. Here we show that migration of Schwann cells, isolated from sciatic nerves, is significantly enhanced by neurotrophin 3, but not by...

Neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial tumor of childhood, is derived from neural crest progenitor cells that fail to differentiate along their predefined route to sympathetic neurons or sympatho-adrenergic adrenal cells. Although expression of the high-affinity neurotrophin receptors, TrkA and TrkB, is of major importance in neuroblastoma, the significance of the expression of the low-aff...

Objective(s):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 med...

The Trk family of tyrosine kinases encodes receptors for nerve growth factor-related neurotrophins. Here we present a developmental expression study of trkC, which encodes a receptor for neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Like the related genes, trk and trkB, trkC is expressed primarily in neural lineages although the pattern is complex and includes non-neuronal cells. Direct comparison with trk and trkB d...

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...

To determine the effects of gonadal hormones on proliferation of the hippocampal neural cells, which are of importance in learning and memory function. 17β-Estradiol or testosterone was added to the culture at various concentrations. Their proliferation and protective effects on the neural cell were determined with BrdU, flow cytometry and MTT assay. Effects of the gonadal hormones on brain-der...

We have constructed a recombinant adenovirus expression vector carrying the human neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) receptor TrkC (tyrosine protein kinase C) gene (rAd-TrkC; 2478 bp) and confirmed the expression of the encoded TrkC in green fluorescent protein (GFP)-murine neural stem cells (NSCs) by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot analysis, and immunocytochemistry. T...

background: in vitro simulation of developmental processes is an invaluable tool to shed light on the intrinsic mechanism of developmental biosystems such as central nervous system in mammals. chick somites have been used to simulate the neural differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. in the present study, we aimed to indicate whether somites have the ability to express required neural...