de Hemptinne Isabelle, Boucherie Cédric, Pochet Roland, Bantubungi Kadiombo, Schiffmann Serge N, Maloteaux Jean-Marie, Hermans Emmanuel
Laboratoire de Pharmacologie Expérimentale, Université catholique de Louvain, Av. Hippocrate 54.10, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Neurosci Lett. 2006 Jun 19;401(1-2):25-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.02.060. Epub 2006 Mar 15.
Transgenic rats expressing a mutated form of the human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (hSOD1(G93A)) develop an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-like phenotype, including motor neurone degeneration and reactive gliosis in the spinal cord. This study aimed at examining the presence of endogenous neural progenitors in the lumbar spinal cord of these rats at the end-stage of the disease. Immunohistochemical data clearly demonstrated the induced expression of the stem cell factor reported as a chemoattractant and survival factor for neural stem cells as well as nestin (neuro-epithelial stem cell intermediate filament) in the spinal cord sections. While the stem cell factor immunolabelling appeared diffuse throughout the gray matter, nestin labelling was restricted to clusters within the ventral horn. Interestingly, as paralysis regularly develops asymmetrically, induction of nestin was only detected on the ipsilateral side of the predominant symptoms. Finally, immunohistochemical detection of the stem cell factor receptor (c-Kit) revealed its specific induction which coincided with nestin immunolabelling. Together, these results are indicative of endogenous recruitment of neural progenitors within lesioned tissues and could support the development of treatments involving endogenous or exogenous stem cells.
表达人铜锌超氧化物歧化酶突变形式（hSOD1(G93A)）的转基因大鼠会出现肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）样表型，包括脊髓运动神经元变性和反应性胶质增生。本研究旨在检查这些大鼠疾病末期腰段脊髓中内源性神经祖细胞的存在情况。免疫组织化学数据清楚地表明，在脊髓切片中诱导表达了被报道为神经干细胞趋化因子和存活因子的干细胞因子以及巢蛋白（神经上皮干细胞中间丝）。虽然干细胞因子免疫标记在整个灰质中呈弥漫性出现，但巢蛋白标记仅限于腹角内的簇状区域。有趣的是，由于瘫痪通常不对称发生，仅在主要症状的同侧检测到巢蛋白的诱导表达。最后，干细胞因子受体（c-Kit）的免疫组织化学检测显示其特异性诱导，与巢蛋白免疫标记一致。总之，这些结果表明病变组织内源性募集神经祖细胞，可能支持涉及内源性或外源性干细胞的治疗方法的开发。
