EGF-responsive rat neural stem cells: molecular follow-up of neuron and astrocyte differentiation in vitro.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) could be very useful for the "cell therapy" treatment of neurological disorders. For this reason basic studies aiming to well characterize the biology of NSCs are of great interest. We carried out a molecular and immunocytochemical analysis of EGF-responsive NSCs obtained from rat pups. After the initial growth of NSCs as floating neurospheres in EGF-containing medium, cells were plated on poly-L-ornithine-coated dishes either in the presence or absence of EGF. We followed cell differentiation and apoptosis for 21 days in vitro and analyzed the expression levels of some genes having a major role in these processes, such as pRB, pRB2/p130, p27, and p53. We observed that EGF impairs neuronal differentiation. Furthermore, in the absence of mitogens, apoptosis, which appeared to proceed through the "p53 network," was significantly lower than in the presence of EGF. The cyclin kinase inhibitor p27, while important for cell cycle exit, seemed dispensable for cell survival and differentiation.