Browsing by Subject "Neural Stem Cells"

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    Loss of MITF expression during human embryonic stem cell differentiation disrupts retinal pigment epithelium development and optic vesicle cell proliferation
    (Oxford University Press, 2014-12-01) Capowski, Elizabeth E.; Simonett, Joseph M.; Clark, Eric M.; Wright, Lynda S.; Howden, Sara E.; Wallace, Kyle A.; Petelinsek, Anna M.; Pinilla, Isabel; Phillips, M. Joseph; Meyer, Jason S.; Schneider, Bernard L.; Thomson, James A.; Gamm, David M.; Department of Biology, School of Science
    Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is a master regulator of pigmented cell survival and differentiation with direct transcriptional links to cell cycle, apoptosis and pigmentation. In mouse, Mitf is expressed early and uniformly in optic vesicle (OV) cells as they evaginate from the developing neural tube, and null Mitf mutations result in microphthalmia and pigmentation defects. However, homozygous mutations in MITF have not been identified in humans; therefore, little is known about its role in human retinogenesis. We used a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) model that recapitulates numerous aspects of retinal development, including OV specification and formation of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neural retina progenitor cells (NRPCs), to investigate the earliest roles of MITF. During hESC differentiation toward a retinal lineage, a subset of MITF isoforms was expressed in a sequence and tissue distribution similar to that observed in mice. In addition, we found that promoters for the MITF-A, -D and -H isoforms were directly targeted by Visual Systems Homeobox 2 (VSX2), a transcription factor involved in patterning the OV toward a NRPC fate. We then manipulated MITF RNA and protein levels at early developmental stages and observed decreased expression of eye field transcription factors, reduced early OV cell proliferation and disrupted RPE maturation. This work provides a foundation for investigating MITF and other highly complex, multi-purposed transcription factors in a dynamic human developmental model system.
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    Traumatic Brain Injury Severity Affects Neurogenesis in Adult Mouse Hippocampus
    (Mary Ann Liebert, 2016-04-15) Wang, Xiaoting; Gao, Xiang; Michalski, Stephanie; Zhao, Shu; Chen, Jinhui; Department of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine
    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been proven to enhance neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. However, various groups have reported contradictory results on whether TBI increases neurogenesis, partially due to a wide range in the severities of injuries seen with different TBI models. To address whether the severity of TBI affects neurogenesis in the injured brain, we assessed neurogenesis in mouse brains receiving different severities of controlled cortical impact (CCI) with the same injury device. The mice were subjected to mild, moderate, or severe TBI by a CCI device. The effects of TBI severity on neurogenesis were evaluated at three stages: NSC proliferation, immature neurons, and newly-generated mature neurons. The results showed that mild TBI did not affect neurogenesis at any of the three stages. Moderate TBI promoted NSC proliferation without increasing neurogenesis. Severe TBI increased neurogenesis at all three stages. Our data suggest that the severity of injury affects adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and thus it may partially explain the inconsistent results of different groups regarding neurogenesis following TBI. Further understanding the mechanism of TBI-induced neurogenesis may provide a potential approach for using endogenous NSCs to protect against neuronal loss after trauma.