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Etiology and Pathogenesis > Stem Cells


J. Clin. Invest., May 1 2004, Volume 113, Issue 9, 1364-1374


Abstract

Neuronally expressed stem cell factor induces neural stem cell migration to areas of brain injury 

Lixin Sun, Jeongwu Lee and Howard A. Fine

Neuro-Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Address correspondence: Howard A. Fine, Neuro-Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, NIH, The Block Building, Room 225, 9030 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-8200, USA. Phone: (301) 402-6383; Fax: (301) 480-2246; E-mail: hfine@mail.nih.gov. Received for publication September 9, 2003, and accepted in revised form February 17, 2004.

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) migration toward sites of damaged central nervous system (CNS) tissue may represent an adaptive response for the purpose of limiting and/or repairing damage. 
Little is known of the mechanisms responsible for this migratory response. 
We constructed a cDNA library of injured mouse forebrain using subtractive suppression hybridization (SSH) to identify genes that were selectively upregulated in the injured hemisphere. 
We demonstrate that stem cell factor (SCF) mRNA and protein are highly induced in neurons within the zone of injured brain. 
Additionally, the SCF receptor c-kit is expressed on NSPCs in vitro and in vivo. 
Finally, we demonstrate that recombinant SCF induces potent NSPC migration in vitro and in vivo through the activation of c-kit on NSPCs. 
These data suggest that the SCF/c-kit pathway is involved in the migration of NSPCs to sites of brain injury and that SCF may prove useful for inducing progenitor cell recruitment to specific areas of the CNS for cell-based therapeutic strategies.

Copyright ©2004 by the American Society for Clinical Investigation


Source: http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/9/1364
HTML Full Text: http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/113/9/1364
PDF Full Text: http://www.jci.org/cgi/reprint/113/9/1364


 

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