The effect of Wnt3a on the proliferation of neural stem cells in vitro

Objective:To investigate the effect of Wnt3a on the proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs).Methods:NSCs were separated mechanically from hippocampus and cultured in serum-free medium.Immunofluorescence technique was employed to detect nestin antigen which was specific antigen of mature neural cells.NSCs were co-incubated with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (Brdu) and immunofluorescence staining was used to observe proliferation potential.Results:The NSCs isolated from hippocampus of embryonic rats the proliferative ability,and differentiated into neurons and astrocytes.The positive rate of the cells stained with Brdu in experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(p＜0.01).Conclusions:NSCs isolated from hippocampus possessed the ability of proliferation and pluripotent differentiation.Wnt3a can promote the proliferation of neural stem cells.