Brain Res. 2011 Sep 21;1413:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.07.037. Epub 2011 Jul 23.
Interferon beta (IFN-β) is a mainline treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS); however its exact mechanism of action is not completely understood. IFN-β is known as an immunomodulator; although recent evidence suggests that IFN-β may also act directly on neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) in the central nervous system (CNS). NPCs can differentiate into all neural lineage cells, which could contribute to the remyelination and repair of MS lesions. Understanding how IFN-β influences NPC physiology is critical to develop more specific therapies that can better assist this repair process. In this study, we investigated the effects of IFN β-1b (Betaseron®) on human NPCs in vitro (hNPCs). Our data demonstrate a dose-dependent response of hNPCs to IFN β-1b treatment via sustained proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, we offer insight into the signaling pathways involved in these mechanisms. Overall, this study shows a direct effect of IFN β-1b on hNPCs and highlights the need to further understand how current MS treatments can modulate endogenous NPC populations within the CNS.
干扰素 β（IFN-β）是多发性硬化症（MS）的主要治疗方法；然而，其确切的作用机制尚不完全清楚。IFN-β 是一种免疫调节剂；尽管最近的证据表明，IFN-β 也可能直接作用于中枢神经系统（CNS）中的神经干细胞/祖细胞（NPC）。NPC 可以分化为所有神经谱系细胞，这有助于 MS 病变的髓鞘再生和修复。了解 IFN-β 如何影响 NPC 生理学对于开发更具特异性的治疗方法以更好地辅助这一修复过程至关重要。在这项研究中，我们研究了 IFNβ-1b（Betaseron®）在体外对人 NPC（hNPC）的影响。我们的数据表明，hNPC 对 IFNβ-1b 治疗的反应呈剂量依赖性，通过持续增殖和分化。此外，我们深入了解了这些机制涉及的信号通路。总的来说，这项研究表明 IFNβ-1b 对 hNPC 有直接影响，并强调需要进一步了解当前的 MS 治疗方法如何调节 CNS 内的内源性 NPC 群体。
