N-cadherin Invovles in P19 Cell in vitro Neuronal Differentiation

N-cadherin plays an important role in the early morphogenesis of neural tissue. For exploring the possible role of N-cadherin in neuronal differentiation in vitro, we chose RA induced P19 cell neuronal differentiation as a model system. Using RT-PCR, we examined the expression pattern of N-cadherin during P19 cell neuronal differentiation. The results showed that N-cadherin expression was increased rapidly during RA induction with its highest expression level at day 3 of neuronal differentiation, then down-regulated along with neuronal maturation. This expression pattern was similar with CNS development in vivo. Then, we constructed a N-cadherin expression-vector and transfected in P19 cells. The stable transfected cell lines, N-cadherin/P19 were selected, and we found that, after aggregated 4 days, the N-cadherin overexpression P19 cells could differentiate into neuron-like cells without the RA induction. The immunocytochemical staining showed that these neuron-like cells expressed neuron specific marker, NF160. These results suggest that N-cadherin gene is involved in P19 neuron differentiation.