Netrin-3 Suppresses Diabetic Neuropathic Pain by Gating the Intra-epidermal Sprouting of Sensory Axons / 神经科学通报·英文版

Diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) is the most common disabling complication of diabetes. Emerging evidence has linked the pathogenesis of DNP to the aberrant sprouting of sensory axons into the epidermal area; however, the underlying molecular events remain poorly understood. Here we found that an axon guidance molecule, Netrin-3 (Ntn-3), was expressed in the sensory neurons of mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), and downregulation of Ntn-3 expression was highly correlated with the severity of DNP in a diabetic mouse model. Genetic ablation of Ntn-3 increased the intra-epidermal sprouting of sensory axons and worsened the DNP in diabetic mice. In contrast, the elevation of Ntn-3 levels in DRGs significantly inhibited the intra-epidermal axon sprouting and alleviated DNP in diabetic mice. In conclusion, our studies identified Ntn-3 as an important regulator of DNP pathogenesis by gating the aberrant sprouting of sensory axons, indicating that Ntn-3 is a potential druggable target for DNP treatment.

Effect of neural cell adhesion moleculeon adhesion, migration and morphology of mouse BMSCs / 基础医学与临床

Objective To explore the effect of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) on adhesion,migration and morphology of mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs).Methods We isolated and cultured BMSCs from wild-type and NCAM gene knockout mice.The expression of NCAM was detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence.Wound healing and adhesion assays were used to detect cell migration and adhesion ability respectively.The morphological changes were observed and the expressings of protein β1 integrin,E-cadherin,β-catenin and N-cadherin were analysed by Western blot.Results The migration and adhesion of BMSCs were significantly reduced after NCAM gene knockout.Meanwhile,the expression of β1 integrin was lower than those in wild-type BMSCs (P<0.01).The morphology of NCAM gene knockout BMSCs changed from irregular to flattened,and expressed epithelial identification marker E-cadherin and β-catenin (P<0.05).However,the expression level of mesenchymal identification marker N-cadherin was decreased (P<0.01).Conclusions NCAM is involved in adhesion and migration of BMSCs via regulating the expression of β1 integrin.Furthermore,NCAMmay negatively regulate the mesenchymal-epithelial transitions of BMSCs.