Cell cycle-related genes in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Genetics;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Cell cycle-related genes in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects

In the field of developmental neurobiology, accurate and ordered regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis are crucial factors contributing to the normal formation of the neural tube.

Preliminary studies by Xinjun Li and colleagues from Deyang People's Hospital have identified several genes involved in the development of neural tube defects.

Their recent study published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 20, 2013) established a model of developmental neural tube defects by administration of retinoic acid to pregnant rats. Gene chip hybridization analysis showed that genes related to the cell cycle and apoptosis, signal transduction, transcription and translation regulation, energy and metabolism, heat shock, and matrix and cytoskeletal proteins were all involved in the formation of developmental neural tube defects. Among these, cell cycle-related genes were predominant. Retinoic acid treatment caused differential expression of three cell cycle-related genes p57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin, the expression levels of which were downregulated by retinoic acid and upregulated during normal neural tube formation.

The results of this study indicate that cell cycle-related genes play an important role in the formation of neural tube defects. P57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin may be critical genes in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects.

Article: " Cell cycle-related genes p57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects," by Xinjun Li1, Zhong Yang2, Yi Zeng3, Hong Xu1, Hongli Li2, Yangyun Han1, Xiaodong Long1, Chao You4 (1 Department of Neurosurgery, Deyang People's Hospital, Deyang 618000, Sichuan Province, China; 2 Department of Neurobiology, the Third Military Medical University of Chinese PLA, Chongqing 400038, China; 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China)

Li XJ, Yang Z, Zeng Y, Xu H, Li HL, Han YY, Long XD, You C. Cell cycle-related genes p57kip2, Cdk5 and Spin in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(20):1863-1871. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.20.005

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Mice experience therapeutic changes in glioma after transplantation of neural stem cells

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Mice experience therapeutic changes in glioma after transplantation of neural stem cells

Neural stem cells transplanted into tumor-bearing rats can hinder tumor cell growth and proliferation; however, the mechanism remains unclear.

Abnormal activation of the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk signaling cascade plays an important role in glioma.

Inhibition of this aberrant activity could effectively hinder glioma cell proliferation and promote cell apoptosis.

To investigate the mechanism of glioblastoma treatment by neural stem cell trans-plantation with respect to the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk pathway, Hua Li and team from the 476 Hospital of Chinese PLA observed Raf-1, Erk and Bcl-2 protein expression as well as Caspase-3 protein expression.

The researchers found that transplantation of neural stem cells could inhibit the abnormal activation of Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk signaling, thus promoting apoptosis and potentially treating glioma.

These findings are published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 19, 2013).

Article: " Apoptosis in glioma-bearing rats after neural stem cell transplantation " by Hua Li1, Zhenjun Chen1, Shaopeng Zhou2 (1 Department of Neurology, the 476 Hospital of Chinese PLA, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian Province, China; 2 Department of Anesthesiology, the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, Guangdong Province, China)

Li H, Chen ZJ, Zhou SP. Apoptosis in glioma-bearing rats after neural stem cell transplantation. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(19):1793-1802. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.19.007

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Research suggests neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 14 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Research suggests neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body's source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

"Despite being hit hard by radiation, it turns out that neural stem cells are like the special forces, on standby waiting to be activated," says Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D., a professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of a study described online in the journal Stem Cells. "Now we might figure out how to unleash the potential of these stem cells to repair human brain damage."

The findings, Quiñones-Hinojosa adds, may have implications not only for brain cancer patients, but also for people with progressive neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease (PD), in which cognitive functions worsen as the brain suffers permanent damage over time.

In Quiñones-Hinojosa's laboratory, the researchers examined the impact of radiation on mouse neural stem cells by testing the rodents' responses to a subsequent brain injury. To do the experiment, the researchers used a device invented and used only at Johns Hopkins that accurately simulates localized radiation used in human cancer therapy. Other techniques, the researchers say, use too much radiation to precisely mimic the clinical experience of brain cancer patients.

In the weeks after radiation, the researchers injected the mice with lysolecithin, a substance that caused brain damage by inducing a demyelinating brain lesion, much like that present in MS. They found that neural stem cells within the irradiated subventricular zone of the brain generated new cells, which rushed to the damaged site to rescue newly injured cells. A month later, the new cells had incorporated into the demyelinated area where new myelin, the protein insulation that protects nerves, was being produced.

"These mice have brain damage, but that doesn't mean it's irreparable," Quiñones-Hinojosa says. "This research is like detective work. We're putting a lot of different clues together. This is another tiny piece of the puzzle. The brain has some innate capabilities to regenerate and we hope there is a way to take advantage of them. If we can let loose this potential in humans, we may be able to help them recover from radiation therapy, strokes, brain trauma, you name it."

His findings may not be all good news, however. Neural stem cells have been linked to brain tumor development, Quiñones-Hinojosa cautions. The radiation resistance his experiments uncovered, he says, could explain why glioblastoma, the deadliest and most aggressive form of brain cancer, is so hard to treat with radiation.

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The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (RO1 NS070024), the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the PROMETEO grant, the Red de Terapia Celular (TerCel) from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología.

Other Johns Hopkins researchers involved in the study include Vivian Capilla-Gonzalez, Ph.D.; Hugo Guerrero-Cazares, M.D., Ph.D.; Janice Bonsu; Oscar Gonzalez-Perez, M.D.; Pragathi Achanta, Ph.D.; John Wong, Ph.D.; and Jose Manuel Garcia-Verdugo, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins Medicine

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The biological behaviors of neural stem cells regulated by novel nanometer scaffolds

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Article: " Novel nanometer scaffolds regulate the biological behaviors of neural stem cells," by Jihui Zhou1, Fuge Sui1, Meng Yao2, Yansong Wang2, Yugang Liu2, Feipeng Tian1, Qiang Li1, Xiaofeng He1, Lin Shao1, Zhiqiang Liu1 (1 Longnan Hospital of Daqing, i.e. the Fifth Hospital Affiliated to Qiqihar Medical University, Daqing 163453, Heilongjiang Province, China; 2 Department of Spine Surgery, the Second Hospital Affiliated to Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, Heilongjiang Province, China)

Zhou JH, Sui FG, Yao M, Wang YS, Liu YG, Tian FP, Li Q, He XF, Shao L, Liu ZQ. Novel nanometer scaffolds regulate the biological behaviors of neural stem cells. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(16):1455-1464.

Full text: http://www.sjzsyj.org:8080/Jweb_sjzs/CN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=614

Neural Regeneration Research

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