Effect of olfactory ensheathing cells on proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in primary culture

Objective To explore the effect of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Methods The cells from the embryonic rat brain were primarily cultured and identified by immunofluorescence and immunocytochemistry. NSCs in the experimental group shared medium with OECs were cultured and induced to differentiate. Simultaneously, NSCs in the control group were cultured alone. The effect of OECs on the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs was observed by immunocytochemistry. Results Nerve growth factor receptor (P75NGFR) was observed in the primarily cultured OECs; nestin was expressed in the primarily cultured neurosphere and the cells differentiated from the neurosphere expressed neurofilament 200 (NF200) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Compared with that in the control group, the number of NSCs in the experimental group was significantly increased (P<0.05). On the 4~(th) and 7~(th) day of differentiation, the percentage of NF200-positive cell was higher in the experimental group than that in the control group (P<0.05), indicating that the appearance of OECs increased the differentiation of NSCs into NF200-positive cells. Conclusion OECs can promote the proliferation of NSCs and induce the differentiation of NSCs into neurons. Key words: Olfactory ensheathing cells; Neural stem cells; Cell proliferation; Cell differentiation