Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Enumeration of Neural Stem Cells Using Clonal Assays
Published on: October 4, 2016
Tetrahedral DNA nanostructures facilitate neural stem cell migration via activating RHOA/ROCK2 signalling pathway
Wenjuan Ma1, Xueping Xie1, Xiaoru Shao1
1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Objectives:
The main purpose of current study was to explore the effects of tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) on neuroectodermal (NE-4C) stem cells migration and unveil the potential mechanisms.
Materials And Methods:
The successfully self-assembled TDNs were also determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). A bidirectional wound-healing assay and transwell chamber assay were employed to test the migrating behaviour of NE-4C stem cells cultured under different conditions.
Results:
Through an in vitro study, we found that stem cells could internalize TDNs quickly, and the cells' parallel and vertical migration was promoted effectively. Besides, the effects of TDNs were found being exerted by upregulating the gene and protein expression levels of RhoA, Rock2 and Vinculin, indicating that the RHOA/ROCK2 pathway was activated by the TDNs during the cell migration.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, TDNs could enter NSCs without the aid of other transfection reagents in large amounts, whereas only small amounts of ssDNA could enter the cells. TDNs taken up by NSCs activated the RHOA/ROCK2 signalling pathway, which had effects on the relevant genes and proteins expression, eventually promoting the migration of NE-4C stem cells. These findings suggested that TDNs have great potential in application for the repair and regeneration of neural tissue.
Related Concept Videos
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

