Magnesium promotes the viability and induces differentiation of neural stem cells both in vitro and in vivo.

OBJECTIVE: Neural stem cells (NSCs) are multipotent stem cells that generating various neural cells, including neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. This showed that NSCs is an ideal candidate in the application of neural disease treatment. In the current study, we established a simple and efficient method to promote the viability and induce the differentiation of NSCs by stimulating with magnesium. METHODS: The proliferation and differentiation of NSCs was determined by MTT assay and immunostaining. The behavior alteration was measured by rotorod test and Morris water maze. RESULTS: Magnesium enhanced proliferation in NSCs. The ratio of Nestin+, Ki67+ and GFAP+ progenitor cells was increased in the presence of magnesium. Besides, magnesium induced the glial differentiation instead of neuronal differentiation in NSCs. By contrast, transplantation of Mg2+-treated NSCs in vivo generated more neurons. In established PD models, transplantation of Mg2+-treated NSCs could improve the symptoms and recover the memory. CONCLUSION: We established a simple and efficient way to promote the proliferation and induce the differentiation of NSCs. More importantly, this may also facilitate to develop a new method to neural disorder treatment.

[Influence of smoking on apoptosis in human gingival epithelium].

PURPOSE: Cigarette smoking was a major risk factor for oral hygiene and periodontal status. The study was to investigate the relationship between different exposure to cigarette smoke and apoptosis in stratum spinosum and stratum basale cells of human gingival epithelium. METHODS: 47 smoking patients with crown lengthening surgery or extraction of the impacted teeth were enrolled. It comprised 41 males and 6 females. Their age ranged from 18 to 29 years old (average age: 21.4). According to smoke history (SH), average cigarettes per day (ACD) and total smoke number (TSM), 47 smokers were divided into group I (SH<5a or ACD<10 and TSM<15 thousand, n=19), group II (5a< or = SH or 10< or = ACD and 15 thousand < or =TSM, n=28). Another 10 non-smoking patients were chosen as control. Apoptosis was identified by the terminal deoxy-transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method. Differences between the two groups were analyzed using Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK).The criteria for statistical significance was accepted at the probability level P<0.05. RESULTS: There was increased apoptosis in stratum spinosumin and stratum basale cells of smokers compared to that of non-smokers. Apoptosis in stratum spinosumin cells was significantly different between smokers and non-smokers (P<0.01), between group I and group II (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: It is conclude that exposure to cigarette smoke can increase apoptosis in stratum spinosumin cells of human gingival epithelium, which may influence its normal metabolism and protein secretion.