Central nervous system diseases remain the most challenging pathologies, with limited or even no therapeutic possibilities and a poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the differentiation properties of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) transfected with recombinant adenovirus expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein cardiotrophin-1 (Adv-EGFP-CT-1) and the possible mechanisms involved. Cells were isolated, and MSC immunophenotypes were confirmed. The resulting differentiated cells treated with Adv-EGFP-CT-1 and cultured in neural induction medium (NIM) expressed higher levels of Nestin, neuronal nuclei (NeuN) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) markers than cells in other treatments. Expression of glycoprotein 130/leukemia inhibitory factor receptor β (gp130/LiFRβ), Raf-1, phosphorylated Raf-1 (p-Raf-1), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and phospho-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) increased gradually within 72 h after transfection with Adv-EGFP-CT-1 and NIM culture. Additionally, inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) abrogated expression of p-ERK1/2, Nestin, GFAP and NeuN. Thus, the ERK1/2 pathway may contribute to CT1-stimulated neural differentiation of hUCB-MSCs.

中文翻译：

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ERK信号通路参与体外由人心肌细胞间充质干细胞引起的心肌营养素1诱导的神经分化。

中枢神经系统疾病仍然是最具挑战性的病理，治疗可能性有限甚至没有，预后不良。本研究旨在研究用表达增强型绿色荧光蛋白心肌营养蛋白-1（Adv-EGFP-CT-1）的重组腺病毒转染的人脐血间充质干细胞（hUCB-MSC）的分化特性及其可能的机制。分离细胞，并确认MSC免疫表型。与其他处理相比，用Adv-EGFP-CT-1处理并在神经诱导培养基（NIM）中培养的所得分化细胞表达更高水平的Nestin，神经元核（NeuN）和神经胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）标记。糖蛋白130 /白血病抑制因子受体β（gp130 /LiFRβ），Raf-1，Adv-EGFP-转染后72小时内，磷酸化的Raf-1（p-Raf-1），细胞外信号调节激酶1/2（ERK1 / 2）和磷酸化ERK1 / 2（p-ERK1 / 2）逐渐增加。 CT-1和NIM文化。此外，细胞外信号调节激酶激酶（MEK）的抑制废除了p-ERK1 / 2，Nestin，GFAP和NeuN的表达。因此，ERK1 / 2通路可能有助于hUCB-MSCs的CT1刺激的神经分化。