胶质细胞干细胞/前体细胞特性的研究进展

胶质细胞是脑内数量最多的神经细胞,包括星形胶质细胞、少突胶质前体细胞、NG2胶质细胞等多种类型,具有维持神经系统内环境稳态、支持和营养神经元、调控神经信号传导等多种重要功能。近年来,随着研究的深入,越来越多的证据表明某些特定的胶质细胞在一定条件下表现出干细胞的特性,发挥干细胞的功能。例如,在病理损伤条件下,星形胶质细胞和少突胶质前体细胞均会被活化而出现增殖、分化,体外分离培养可自我更新形成神经球。这些活化的星形胶质细胞和少突胶质前体细胞形成的神经球能够被诱导分化为星形胶质细胞、少突胶质细胞和神经元。此外,通过强制性表达外源基因能将星形胶质细胞和NG2胶质细胞转分化为神经元,这可能也是其干细胞特性的一种体现。本文在已有研究的基础上,总结了放射状胶质细胞、少突胶质前体细胞、星形胶质细胞、NG2胶质细胞与其它类型胶质细胞的干细胞特性、干细胞特性形成的条件、它们可能产生的子代细胞以及涉及的分子信号调控通路。深入探讨胶质细胞的干细胞特性及生理功能,有利于促进其在神经系统损伤修复领域的临床应用。     

星形胶质细胞

目录一、星形胶质细胞的生物学特性(一 )星形胶质细胞的异质性(二 )胶质网络二、星形胶质细胞的功能(一 )分泌功能(二 )星形胶质细胞与神经的发育及再生(三 )星形胶质细胞具有对神经元微环境调控的能力(四 )免疫功能与血脑屏障调控三、星形胶质细胞功能的新近进展(一 )星形胶质细胞也具有可兴奋性(二 )星形胶质细胞与神经元的通讯或对话(三 )在突触形成和突触可塑性中的作用(四 )星形胶质细胞与神经发生胶质细胞是神经系统内数量众多的一大类细胞群体 ,约占中枢神经系统 (CNS)细胞总数的 90 % ,星形胶质细胞 (astrocyte)是其中主要的组成…     

脑损伤后星形胶质细胞的重编程及意义

脑损伤后神经元的死亡及凋亡使脑组织功能受损,是患者出现肢体、语言功能障碍等后遗症的主要原因。因此,修复受损脑组织的神经元是治疗的关键。近年研究表明,星形胶质细胞能发生重编程转化为神经元,其重编程的方式有去分化和转分化两种。去分化主要在体外诱导星形胶质细胞形成神经球,但这种神经球移植回体内后并不能产生神经元。转分化方式,包括直接转分化和间接转分化。间接转分化过程产生新生神经元的周期较长,且存在形成肿瘤的风险;直接转分化尤其是体内的直接转分化方式既避免了细胞移植的复杂过程,又能避免间接转分化方式形成肿瘤的风险,是脑损伤后新生神经元最安全有效的方法。该文就正常星形胶质细胞与脑损伤后反应性星形胶质细胞的重编程的机制和意义进行综述。     

疼痛研究的新亮点:星形胶质细胞

一直以来疼痛被认为仅仅是由神经元调节的。目前的研究表明,星形胶质细胞与疼痛有密切的关系。星形胶质细胞通过许多重要功能如参与信号转导、被激活而表现出激活的特性,如释放促炎性因子、神经营养因子等,在疼痛调节过程中发挥重要作用。对星形胶质细胞与疼痛关系的研究,必将为疼痛机制的阐明及疼痛治疗提供新的思路。     

RCMV感染星形胶质细胞对神经干细胞分化的影响

探讨大鼠巨细胞病毒（rat cytomegalovirus,RCMV）感染大鼠星形胶质细胞后,对神经干细胞分化的影响。原代分离培养新生大鼠星形胶质细胞和胚胎海马神经干细胞,将星形胶质细胞感染RCMV后和神经干细胞在Transwell24孔共培养体系下进行共培养,同时设对照组;用免疫荧光染色等方法检测神经干细胞与感染RCMV的星形胶质细胞共培养后,其分化细胞中神经元微管相关蛋白（microtubule-associated protein 2,MAP2）和星形胶质细胞胶质纤维酸性蛋白（glial fibril—lary acidic protein,GFAP）的表达。结果发现,感染RCMV的星形胶质细胞与神经干细胞共培养时,神经干细胞分化减慢,分化成的神经元和星形胶质细胞比率低于对照组,提示星形胶质细胞感染RCMV后可抑制神经干细胞的分化,可能与RCMV影响星形胶质细胞合成和分泌各种营养因子,干扰了神经干细胞的分化进程有关。     

综述与专论: 星形胶质细胞对神经退行性疾病影响的研究进展

神经退行性疾病是常见且难以治愈的疾病,给患者的生活带来了极大的不便。星形胶质细胞在神经退行性疾病中发挥重要作用。在神经退行性疾病患者神经系统中,受损的神经胶质细胞对周围的神经元可以产生毒性作用,造成神经元功能障碍,从而死亡。同时,受疾病影响产生的一些反应性星形胶质细胞可以保护神经元,清除神经元周围的有害物质,暂缓疾病的恶化。本综述将讨论星形胶质细胞在部分常见神经退行性疾病中发挥的作用,包括肌萎缩侧索硬化（amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,ALS）、阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer’s disease,AD）和帕金森病（Parkinson’s disease,PD）。同时总结了星形胶质细胞对这些疾病发挥的共同作用,旨在进一步促进神经退行性疾病的研究进展。     

模拟衰老大鼠星形胶质细胞条件培养基对神经干细胞增殖能力的影响

目的建立大鼠星形胶质细胞衰老模型,模拟老年大鼠体内星形胶质细胞衰老,探讨衰老的星形胶质细胞条件培养基对神经干细胞增殖能力的影响。方法采用胰酶消化法分离新生1 d大鼠皮层星形胶质细胞和15 d胎鼠端脑神经干细胞,200μmol/L H_2O_2诱导星型胶质细胞4 h建立衰老模型;收取培养3 d和7 d衰老细胞上清作为条件培养基,以1∶3或1∶2的比例加入神经干细胞增殖培养基中,通过神经干细胞及神经球计数观察对增殖功能的影响,以正常星型胶质细胞条件培养基作为对照。结果 3 d正常条件培养基对神经干细胞短期增殖无影响,对长期增殖有抑制作用; 3 d衰老条件培养基抑制神经干细胞的增殖; 7 d正常条件培养基促进神经干细胞短期增殖,对长期增殖有抑制作用; 7 d衰老条件培养基抑制神经干细胞的增殖,抑制作用大于正常条件培养基。结论 H_2O_2诱导衰老的星形胶质细胞抑制神经干细胞的增殖,对长期增殖的抑制作用大于正常星形胶质细胞。     

星形胶质细胞的生物学功能

人类大脑由两类细胞组成:一类是神经元,另一类是神经胶质细胞。神经胶质细胞的数量约为神经元的10倍,但其作用长期以来一直被认为仅限于在神经元之间充当填充物,填满大脑中的剩余空间,同时为神经元提供营养。但近年来认识到神经胶质细胞的主要成员星形胶质细胞能够感知外界刺激,它的反应选择性甚至高于相邻神经元。神经元的反应活动很多都要经过星形胶质细胞的介导才能完成。本文介绍了星形胶质细胞在神经调制、突触调节和神经血管系统偶联方面的一些新进展,以期在不久的将来对星形胶质细胞的功能有更深入的了解,并能应用于临床实践。     

睫状神经营养因子对体外培养星形胶质细胞的激活作用

目的 观察睫状神经营养因子(CNIF)对体外培养星形胶质细胞的细胞激活作用。方法分别给予不同浓度(0、2、20、200ng／ml)的CNTF孵育有血清培养和无血清培养的星形胶质细胞,采用免疫细胞化学技术及流式细胞术,观察星形胶质细胞形态及细胞周期的变化。结果有血清培养和无血清培养时CNTF均使星形胶质细胞GFAP表达增强,胞核肥大。有血清培养时CNTF还可以促进星形胶质细胞进入细胞周期进行增殖;无血清培养时CNTF无此效应。结论无血清培养时CNTF可以刺激星形胶质细胞进入活化状态,但不刺激其增殖;有血清培养时CNTF可以协助血清中的丝裂原引起星形胶质细胞增殖。     

干细胞因子和受体在神经系统中的表达及其生物学效应

干细胞因子（stem cell factor,SCF)是一种多功能细胞因子,其受体由原癌基因c-kit编码,称为c-kit受体（c-kitR)。SCF－c-kitR不论在胚胎发育期还是成年期的神经系统,均有广泛的表达。体内外大量研究提示：SCF/c0kitR信号系统在神经系统生长、分化过程中具有多种生物学效应,表现对神经嵴4细胞体外分化的影响,对神经胶质细胞（小胶质细胞、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞）的调控作用,并与神经内分泌功能相关。     

微流控芯片技术在细胞生物学研究中的应用进展

20世纪90年代以来,微流控芯片技术得到了快速发展。由于具有小型化、集成化、高通量、低消耗、分析快速等特点,微流控芯片作为一种新型的生物学研究平台,能够提供传统方法不具备的精细和可控制的细胞研究条件,在细胞生物学研究领域中得到了广泛关注。该文主要介绍其在细胞培养、分选、裂解、计数、凋亡检测、迁移、单细胞捕获、细胞间作用等方面的研究进展。     

Efficient and Innocuous Live‐Cell Delivery: Making Membrane Barriers Disappear to Enable Cellular Biochemistry

The confluence of protein engineering techniques and delivery protocols are providing new opportunities in cell biology. In particular, techniques that render the membrane of cells transiently permeable make the introduction of nongenetically encodable macromolecular probes into cells possible. This, in turn, can enable the monitoring of intracellular processes in ways that can be both precise and quantitative, ushering an area that one may envision as cellular biochemistry. Herein, the author reviews pioneering examples of such new cell‐based assays, provides evidence that challenges the paradigm that cell penetration is a necessarily damaging and stressful event for cells, and highlights some of the challenges that should be addressed to fully unlock the potential of this nascent field.     

Ultrastructural evidence for two-cell and three-cell neural pathways in the tentacle epidermis of the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida.

Sensory and ganglion cells in the tentacle epidermis of the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida were traced in serial transmission electron micrographs to their synaptic contacts on other cells. Sensory cell synapses were found on spirocytes, muscle cells, and ganglion cells. Ganglion cells, in turn, synapsed on sensory cells, spirocytes, muscle cells, and other neurons and formed en passant axo-axonal synapses. Axonal synapses on nematocytes and gland cells were not traced to their cells of origin, i.e., identified sensory or ganglion cells. Direct synaptic contacts of sensory cells with spirocytes and sensory cells with muscle cells suggest a local two-cell pathway for spirocyst discharge and muscle cell contraction, whereas interjection of a ganglion cell between the sensory and effector cells creates a local three-cell pathway. The network of ganglion cells and their processes allows for a through-conduction system that is interconnected by chemical synapses. Although the sea anemone nervous system is more complex than that of Hydra, it has similar two-cell and three-cell effector pathways that may function in local responses to tentacle contact with food.     

The role of glutamine, serum and energy factors in growth of enterocyte-like cell lines

Background: Glutamine is routinely added to most cell cultures. Glutamine has been found to be the preferential nutrient to the rapidly replicating intestinal mucosa, but whether this is a metabolic effect or due to other properties of this amino acid is not determined. To study the importance of glutamine on the growth of two enterocyte-like cell lines, the effects of depriving the media or supplementing it with glutamine were assessed in media with different serum and energy supplements. Methods: CaCo-2 and HT-29 cells were grown in serum-free medium, with fetal bovine or synthetic serum, and with or without glucose or galactose. The glutamine content was varied between 0 and 4 mM. All growth assays were performed in triplicate by counting in a hemocytometer. Results: Both cell lines were dependent of serum factors for growth, but displayed distinct requirements on glutamine supplementation. Glutamine was an obligate supplement with dose-dependent correlation to growth (r=0.87, p<0.01) for CaCo-2 cells cultured in synthetic, but not in fetal bovine serum. In HT-29 cells, the correlation between glutamine and growth was significant (r=0,68, p<0,05) only in fetal bovine serum in the absence of galactose. Conclusion: This study shows that glutamine has different growth stimulating effects on two enterocyte-like cell lines studied. This could reflect different modes of action of glutamine on proliferation and differentiation in an enterocyte cell population.     

Of mice, frogs and flies: generation of membrane asymmetries in early development

Embryonic development begins with cleavage of the fertilized egg. Cleavage comprises two major processes: cytokinesis and formation of a polarized epithelial cell layer. The focus of this review is comparison of the generation of membrane polarity during embryonic cleavage in three different developmental model systems. In mammalian embryos, as exemplified by analysis of the mouse, generation of distinct membrane domains is uncoupled from cleavage divisions and is initiated in a specific developmental phase, called compaction. In Xenopus laevis embryos, generation of polarized blastomeres occurs simultaneously with cytokinesis. The origin of specific membrane domains of X. laevis polar blastomeres, however, can be traced back to oogenesis. Finally, in Drosophila melanogaster, generation of polarized cells occurs at cellularization. The relevance of cell adhesion, cell junctions and cytocortical scaffolds will be discussed for each of the model systems. Despite enormous morphologic differences, the three models share many common features; in particular, many important molecular interactions are conserved.     

哺乳动物体细胞核移植中供体细胞的研究进展

在哺乳动物体细胞核移植中,供体细胞是影响其效率的主要因素之一。供体细胞的类型、细胞周期、细胞的培养代数、冷藏与冷冻处理,以及供体动物的性别、年龄等都可能影响核移植胚胎的发育。根据现有资料,简要综述了在哺乳动物体细胞核移植中有关供体细胞的研究进展。     

微囊化K562细胞生长周期及代谢特性的研究

以K562细胞为模型,分别进行微囊化和游离培养,运用流式细胞术考察两种培养体系下细胞周期和生长代谢变化;建立数学模型,模拟了两种培养体系下细胞的生长活性和代谢特性。实验发现：微囊化培养过程中的K562细胞处于DNA合成期（S期）的百分含量显著高于游离培养,并且细胞保持较高的增殖活性。模型计算表明,所建模型动力学参数能够很好地描述微囊化和游离两种培养体系下细胞的代谢情况;对细胞活性的理论计算表明,微囊化的细胞具有较高的增殖和代谢活性,同时细胞能够较长时间保持此活性;模型参数表明,两种培养体系下,葡萄糖对细胞生长的影响无显著差别 (k^Free_L≈k^APA_L),乳酸对游离培养细胞的生长具有明显抑制作用,但对微囊化培养细胞抑制作用较小(kFreeL>≈kAPAL)。     

Engineering Cardiac Cell Junctions In Vitro to Study the Intercalated Disc

Abstract

This review article discusses a recent work using engineered cardiac cells to study the function of the intercalated disc putting emphasis on mechanical and electrical coupling.     

Mammalian testis: a target of in vivo electroporation

Mammalian spermatogenesis consists of three biologically significant processes: stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, meiosis, and haploid cell morphogenesis. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind these processes might provide clues to the puzzle of species preservation and evolution, and to treatments for male infertility. However, few useful in vitro systems exist to investigate these processes at present. To elucidate these mechanisms, in vivo electroporation of the testis might be a convenient option. Since DNA solution can be injected into the seminiferous tubule via the rete testis, similar to germ cell transplantation, it is easy to transfect expression vectors into various differentiated germ cells and supporting Sertoli cells with adequate electric shock. Unfortunately, it is difficult to create transgenic animals using this method because of its low efficiency. However, gain- and loss-of-function assays, promoter assays, and tagged-protein behavior assays can be conducted with this technique, as in in vitro culture systems.     

Perivascular cells for regenerative medicine

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) are currently the best candidate therapeutic cells for regenerative medicine related to osteoarticular, muscular, vascular and inflammatory diseases, although these cells remain heterogeneous and necessitate a better biological characterization. We and others recently described that MSC originate from two types of perivascular cells, namely pericytes and adventitial cells and contain the in situ counterpart of MSC in developing and adult human organs, which can be prospectively purified using well defined cell surface markers. Pericytes encircle endothelial cells of capillaries and microvessels and express the adhesion molecule CD146 and the PDGFRβ, but lack endothelial and haematopoietic markers such as CD34, CD31, vWF (von Willebrand factor), the ligand for Ulex europaeus 1 (UEA1) and CD45 respectively. The proteoglycan NG2 is a pericyte marker exclusively associated with the arterial system. Besides its expression in smooth muscle cells, smooth muscle actin (αSMA) is also detected in subsets of pericytes. Adventitial cells surround the largest vessels and, opposite to pericytes, are not closely associated to endothelial cells. Adventitial cells express CD34 and lack αSMA and all endothelial and haematopoietic cell markers, as for pericytes. Altogether, pericytes and adventitial perivascular cells express in situ and in culture markers of MSC and display capacities to differentiate towards osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic cell lineages. Importantly, adventitial cells can differentiate into pericyte‐like cells under inductive conditions in vitro. Altogether, using purified perivascular cells instead of MSC may bring higher benefits to regenerative medicine, including the possibility, for the first time, to use these cells uncultured.