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Developmental changes in neural progenitor cell lineage commitment do not depend on epidermal growth factor receptor
1Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Journal of Neuroscience Research
|February 19, 2000
Summary
Neural progenitor cells
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Multipotent neural progenitor cells (NPCs) differentiate into glial cells during development.
- Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression increases as NPCs become more biased towards glial fates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if EGFR signaling causally influences NPC lineage commitment.
- To determine if glial cell generation is dependent on EGFR activation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an EGFR-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor (PD158780) to block EGFR activation in cultured NPCs.
- Assessed proliferation and differentiation in response to EGF, bFGF, BMP2, and CNTF.
- Analyzed EGFR expression and activation in early-stage (E12.5) rat forebrain cells.
Main Results:
- PD158780 blocked EGF-induced NPC proliferation but not bFGF-induced proliferation.
- EGFR inhibition did not affect astroglial generation with EGF, bFGF, BMP2, or CNTF.
- Glial differentiation propensity increased with time in culture, independent of EGFR signaling.
Conclusions:
- NPC glial differentiation is not dependent on EGFR activation.
- Increased glial bias during development does not rely on EGFR signaling.