Edaravone is clinically used for treatment of patients with acute cerebral infarction. However, the effect of double application of edaravone on neurogenesis in the hippocampus following ischemia remains unknown. In the present study, we explored whether pre- and posttreatment of edaravone had any effect on neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in the subgranular zone of hippocampus in a rat mod...

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) is well studied for its role in Alzheimer disease. However, little is known about its normal function. In this study, we examined the role of APP in neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) proliferation. NSPCs derived from APP-overexpressing Tg2576 transgenic mice proliferated more rapidly than NSPCs from the corresponding background strain (C57Bl/6xSJL) wild-type...

Neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs) in the human subventricular zone (SVZ) potentially contribute to life-long neurogenesis, yet subtypes of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) contain NSPC signatures that highlight the importance of cell fate regulation. Among numerous regulatory mechanisms, the post-translational methylations onto histone tails are crucial regulator of cell fate. The work presente...

Brain damage, such as ischemic stroke, enhances proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in the subventricular zone (SVZ). To date, no reliable in vitro systems, which can be used to unravel the potential mechanisms underlying this lesion-induced effect, have been established. Here, we developed an ex vivo method to investigate how the proliferation of NSPCs changes over time after...

BACKGROUND Small molecules have been shown to modulate the neurogenesis processes. In search for new therapeutic drugs, the herbs used in traditional medicines for neurogenesis are promising candidates. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We selected a total of 45 natural compounds from Traditional Chinese herbal medicines which are extensively used in China to treat stroke clinically, and tes...

The aim of this study was to understand the survival and differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) cultured on chitosan matrices in vivo in a complete transection model of spinal cord injury. NSPCs were isolated from the subependyma of lateral ventricles of adult GFP transgenic rat forebrains. The GFP-positive neurospheres were seeded onto the inner lumen of chitosan tubes to gene...

Adult neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs) of the subventricular zone (SVZ) are an endogenous source for neuronal replacement in CNS disease. However, adult neurogenesis is compromised after brain injury in favor of a glial cell fate, which is mainly attributed to changes in the NSPC environment. Yet, it is unknown how this unfavorable extracellular environment translates into a transcriptional ...

BACKGROUND Distinguishing human neural stem/progenitor cell (huNSPC) populations that will predominantly generate neurons from those that produce glia is currently hampered by a lack of sufficient cell type-specific surface markers predictive of fate potential. This limits investigation of lineage-biased progenitors and their potential use as therapeutic agents. A live-cell biophysical and labe...

Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors Olig1 and Olig2 critically regulate oligodendrocyte development. Initially identified as a downstream effector of Olig1, an oligodendrocyte-specific zinc finger transcription repressor, Zfp488, cooperates with Olig2 function. Although Zfp488 is required for oligodendrocyte precursor formation and differentiation during embryonic development, its role...

The neuroprotective agents and induction of endogenous neurogenesis remain to be the urgent issues to be established for the care of cerebral stroke. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFR-β) is mainly expressed in neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs), neurons and vascular pericytes of the brain; however, the role in pathological neurogenesis remains elusive. To this end, we examin...