BACKGROUND The transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) has been accepted as a promising therapeutic strategy for central nervous system disorders. However, the beneficial effect of NSC transplantation upon functional recovery is limited due to the unfavorable microenvironment (niche) at the site of trauma or degenerative disease in the brain. Combination of transplantation of NSCs with neur...

objective(s): scutellarin, a flavonoid extracted from the medicinal herb erigeron breviscapus hand-mazz, protects neurons from damage and inhibits glial activation. here we examined whether scutellarin may also protect neurons from hypoxia-induced damage. materials and methods: mice were exposed to hypoxia for 7 days and then administered scutellarin (50 mg/kg/d) or vehicle for 30 days cognitiv...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is an autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. the aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of transplanted human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stromal cells (ucb-msc) derived neural progenitor cell (mdnpc) in eae, an experimental model of ms. to initiate neuronal differentiation of ucb-mscs, the pre-inductio...

objective: the neural crest is a transient structure of early vertebrate embryos that generates neural crest cells (nccs). these cells can migrate throughout the body and produce a diverse array of mature tissue types. due to the ethical and technical problems surrounding the isolation of these early human embryo cells, researchers have focused on in vitro studies to produce nccs and increase t...

Nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) are three representative neurotrophins responsible for the differentiation and survival of neurons, and their high-affinity receptors are tropomyosin-receptor-kinase (TRK)A, TRKB, and TRKC, respectively. In this study, we investigated the expression of neurotrophins in a mouse periodontal ligament cel...

During neuronal development, neurotrophins are essential factors that promote survival, differentiation and myelination of neurons. The trophic signals are relayed to the cells via binding to Trk receptor tyrosine kinases and the p75 neurotrophin receptor. Paradoxically, the p75 neurotrophin receptor also ensures rapid and appropriate apoptosis of neonatal neurons not reaching their proper targ...

Medulloblastomas (MBs) are primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) of the cerebellum. They represent the most frequent malignant pediatric brain tumors, but their origin still remains unresolved and controversial. MB cells correspond to different stages of neural development and differentiation as illustrated by their expression of neuronal and glial markers. In the present study, we examined t...