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Updated: Apr 13, 2026
High Throughput Characterization of Adult Stem Cells Engineered for Delivery of Therapeutic Factors for Neuroprotective Strategies
Published on: January 4, 2015
Aromatic-turmerone induces neural stem cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo
Joerg Hucklenbroich1,2, Rebecca Klein3,4, Bernd Neumaier5
1Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, Leo-Brandt-Straße 52425, Jülich, Germany. joerg@germanynet.de.
Introduction:
Aromatic (ar-) turmerone is a major bioactive compound of the herb Curcuma longa. It has been suggested that ar-turmerone inhibits microglia activation, a property that may be useful in treating neurodegenerative disease. Furthermore, the effects of ar-turmerone on neural stem cells (NSCs) remain to be investigated.
Methods:
We exposed primary fetal rat NSCs to various concentrations of ar-turmerone. Thereafter, cell proliferation and differentiation potential were assessed. In vivo, naïve rats were treated with a single intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of ar-turmerone. Proliferative activity of endogenous NSCs was assessed in vivo, by using noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and the tracer [(18)F]-fluoro-L-thymidine ([(18)F]FLT), as well as ex vivo.
Results:
In vitro, ar-turmerone increased dose-dependently the number of cultured NSCs, because of an increase in NSC proliferation (P < 0.01). Proliferation data were supported by qPCR-data for Ki-67 mRNA. In vitro as well as in vivo, ar-turmerone promoted neuronal differentiation of NSCs. In vivo, after i.c.v. injection of ar-turmerone, proliferating NSCs were mobilized from the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the hippocampus of adult rats, as demonstrated by both [(18)F]FLT-PET and histology (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Both in vitro and in vivo data suggest that ar-turmerone induces NSC proliferation. Ar-turmerone thus constitutes a promising candidate to support regeneration in neurologic disease.
