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Midkine, a heparin‐binding growth factor, is expressed in neural precursor cells and promotes their growth
Author(s) -
Zou Peng,
Muramatsu Hisako,
Miyata Takaki,
Muramatsu Takashi
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2006.04138.x
Subject(s) - midkine , neurosphere , precursor cell , pleiotrophin , neural stem cell , biology , nestin , growth factor , progenitor cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cell culture , chemistry , embryonic stem cell , stem cell , biochemistry , cell , adult stem cell , gene , receptor , genetics
Midkine, a heparin‐binding growth factor, was found to be expressed in neural precursor cells, which consist of neural stem cells and the progenitor cells. When embryonic brain cells were allowed to form neurospheres enriched in neural precursor cells, numbers were significantly smaller from the midkine‐deficient brain than from the wild‐type brain. Dissociated neurosphere cells yielded nestin‐positive neural precursor cells and differentiated neuronal cells upon culture on a substratum. Neural precursor cells from the midkine‐deficient brain spread poorly and grew less effectively on a substratum coated with poly‐ l ‐lysine than the cells on midkine‐coated substratum. Neural precursor cells from the wild‐type brain spread and grew well on both the substrata. Differentiation to neurons and glia cells was not affected by the absence of midkine. Heparitinase digestion of dissociated neurosphere cells resulted in poor growth of neural precursor cells, while chondroitinase digestion had no effect. These results indicate that midkine is involved in the growth of neural precursor cells and suggest that the interaction with heparan sulfate proteoglycans is important in midkine action to these cells.