The MMP-1/PAR-1 Axis Enhances Proliferation and Neuronal Differentiation of Adult Hippocampal Neural Progenitor Cells

Figure 2

MMP-1 tg-derived aNPCs show increased differentiation towards the neuronal lineage. (a) Differentiation experiments on aNPCs from WT and MMP-1 tg animals. Data, which represent mean ± SD values, are expressed as percentage over total number of viable cells. A statistically significant increased percentage of MAP-2⁺ neurons was generated in vitro by aNPCs from hMMP-1 tg, compared to WT counterpart. Conversely, the number of cells expressing the oligodendrocyte precursor marker NG2 is significantly reduced in absence of changes in the number of GFAP⁺ cells in tg cultures (; versus WT cells, ANOVA). (b) Representative GFAP, NG2, and MAP2 immunostaining (in green) in WT and hMMP-1 tg NPC cultures. Nuclei are counterstained by DAPI (in blue).

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