Expression of the Parkinson's Disease-Related Protein DJ-1 during Neural Stem Cell Proliferation

Abstract

Neural stem cells (NSCs) arise through neurogenesis, and comprise all newly-formed neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems. DJ-1 is associated with autosomal recessive familial Parkinson's disease (PD). The relationship between DJ-1 and NSC proliferation may shed light on the underlying pathogenesis of, and potential treatments for, PD. To investigate the relationship between DJ-1 and NSCs, embryonic cortical NSCs were isolated and cultured from E14 fetal rats. Immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry were applied to evaluate DJ-1 expression in proliferating NSCs. We found that DJ-1 was co-expressed with nestin, a marker of progenitors, during NSC proliferation from days 1—7. The present results suggest that DJ-1 is co-expressed with nestin in NSCs during proliferation.