ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have observed the expression of formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) in neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and confirmed that FPRs can promote the migration of NSPCs and induce them to differentiate into neurons. FPRs ligands are present in damaged tissues, but the binding of different ligands with FPRs may lead to different and even opposite biological effects. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect on the differentiation of NSPCs into neurons after the binding of the ligands produced following spinal cord injury with FPRs. METHODS: Immunofluorescence staining, western blot and flow cytometry were used to analyze the expression of FPRs in NSPCs. Immunofluorescent staining with confocal microscope detection was used to analyze the effect of homogenates of the spinal cord on the differentiation of FPR1+or FPR2+NSPCs into neurons. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Some of NSPCs expressed FPR1 and FPR2, not only on the cell membrane, but also in the cytoplasm. The expression level of FPR1 was obviously lower than that of FPR2. The homogenate group for FPR1+or FPR2+NSPCs could produce more β-III tubulin-positive cells and fewer GFAP-positive astrocytes, and the effects could be blocked by FPR1 or FPR2 inhibitor Boc2 or WRW4. These experimental findings show that the spinal cord homogenate can induce FPR1 or FPR2 positive NSPCs to differentiate into neurons and inhibit their differentiation to astrocytes, and moreover, this effect is specific.