Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (11): 2310-2315.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.310701

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Phenotypic and functional comparison of rat enteric neural crest-derived cells during fetal and early-postnatal stages

Dong-Hao Tian, Chuan-Hui Qin, Wen-Yao Xu, Wei-Kang Pan, Yu-Ying Zhao, Bai-Jun Zheng, Xin-Lin Chen, Yong Liu, Ya Gao, Hui Yu   

  1. 1Department of Pediatric Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China; 2Department of Anorectal, Suizhou Central Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Suizhou, Hubei Province, China; 3Institute of Neurobiology, Environment and Genes Related to Diseases Key Laboratory of Chinese Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • Online:2021-11-15 Published:2021-04-13
  • Contact: Ya Gao, MD, PhD, ygao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Hui Yu, MD, PhD, yuhui831022@gmail.com.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 82071692 (to HY), 81741096 (to HY), 81770513 (to YG), 81270435 (to WKP); Shaanxi Youth Science and Technology Project of China, No. 2019KJXX-044 (to HY); the National Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China, No. 2020JM-407 (to HY); and Fund Project of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University No. RC(XM)201703 (to HY). 

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Abstract: In our previous study, we showed that with increasing time in culture, the growth characteristics of enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) change, and that the proliferation, migration and neural differentiation potential of these cells in vitro notably diminish. However, there are no studies on the developmental differences in these characteristics between fetal and early-postnatal stages in vitro or in vivo. In this study, we isolated fetal (embryonic day 14.5) and postnatal (postnatal day 2) ENCCs from the intestines of rats. Fetal ENCCs had greater maximum cross-sectional area of the neurospheres, stronger migration ability, and reduced apoptosis, compared with postnatal ENCCs. However, fetal and postnatal ENCCs had a similar differentiation ability. Fetal and postnatal ENCCs both survived after transplant into a rat model of Hirschsprung’s disease. In these rats with Hirschsprung’s disease, the number of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus was higher and the distal intestinal pressure change was greater in animals treated with fetal ENCCs compared with those treated with postnatal ENCCs. These findings suggest that, compared with postnatal ENCCs, fetal ENCCs exhibit higher survival and proliferation and migration abilities, and are therefore a more appropriate seed cell for the treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (approval No. 2016086) on March 3, 2016.

Key words:  cell transplantation, enteric nervous system, enteric neural crest-derived cells, Hirschsprung’s disease, stem cells

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