Neural stem cell differentiation is mediated by integrin β4 in vitro

Le Su, Xin Lv, JiPing Xu, DeLing Yin, HaiYan Zhang, Yi Li, Jing Zhao, ShangLi Zhang, JunYing Miao

The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology

2009-04-01

Abstract:

Neural stem cells are capable of differentiating into three major neural cell types, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanism by which integrin @b4 modulates mouse neural stem cell differentiation in vitro. Inhibition of endogenous integrin @b4 by RNA interference inhibited the cell differentiation and the expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 but not fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 or fibroblast growth factor receptor 3. Overexpression of integrin @b4 in neural stem cells promoted neural stem cell differentiation. Furthermore, integrin @b4-induced differentiation of neural stem cells was attenuated by SU5402, the inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptors. Finally, we investigated the role of integrin @b4 in neural stem cell survival: knockdown of integrin @b4 did not affect survival or apoptosis of neural stem cells. These data provide evidence that integrin @b4 promotes differentiation of mouse neural stem cells in vitro possibly through fibroblast growth factor receptor 2.