Cadherin epidermal growth factor (EGF) laminin G (LAG) seven-pass G-type receptor 1 (CELSR1) is a member of a special subgroup of adhesion G protein-coupled receptors. Although Celsr1 has been reported to be a sensitive gene for stroke, the effect of CELSR1 in ischemic stroke is still not known. Here, we investigated the effect of CELSR1 on neuroprotection, neurogenesis and angiogenesis in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats. The mRNA expression of Celsr1 was upregulated in the subventricular zone (SVZ), hippocampus and ischemic penumbra after cerebral ischemic injury. Knocking down the expression of Celsr1 in the SVZ with a lentivirus significantly reduced the proliferation of neuroblasts, the number of CD31-positive cells, motor function and rat survival and increased cell apoptosis and the infarct volume in MCAO rats. In addition, the expression of p-PKC in the SVZ and peri-infarct tissue was downregulated after ischemia/ reperfusion. Meanwhile, in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, knocking down the expression of Celsr1 significantly reduced the proliferation of neuroblasts; however, it had no influence on motor function, cell apoptosis or angiogenesis. These data indicate that CELSR1 has a neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia injury by reducing cell apoptosis in the peri-infarct cerebral cortex and promoting neurogenesis and angiogenesis, mainly through the Wnt/PKC pathway.

As carbon-based nanomaterials, water-soluble C60 derivatives have potential applications in various fields of biomedicine. In this study, a water-soluble fullerene C60 derivative bearing alanine residues (Ala-C60) was synthesized. The effects of Ala-C60 on neural stem cells (NSCs) as seed cells were explored. Ala-C60 can promote the proliferation of NSCs, induce NSCs to differentiate into neurons, and inhibit the migration of NSCs. Most importantly, the Ala-C60 can significantly increase the cell viability of NSCs treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The glutathioneperoxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and glutathione (GSH) content increased significantly in NSCs treated even by 20 μM Ala-C60. These findings strongly indicate that Ala-C60 has high potential to be applied as a scaffold with NSCs for regeneration in nerve tissue engineering for diseases related to the nervous system.

Scaffold materials, neurotrophic factors, and seed cells are three elements of neural tissue engineering. As well-known self-assembling peptide-based hydrogels, RADA16-I and modified peptides are attractive matrices for neural tissue engineering. In addition to its neuroprotective effects, cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) has been reported to promote the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs). However, the role of RADA16-I combined with CDNF on NSCs remains unknown. First, the effect of RADA16-I hydrogel and CDNF on the proliferation and differentiation of cultured NSCs was investigated. Next, RADA16-I hydrogel and CDNF were microinjected into the lateral ventricle (LV) of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats to activate endogenous NSCs. CDNF promoted the proliferation of NSCs, while RADA16-I induced the neural differentiation of NSCs in vitro. Importantly, both RADA16-I and CDNF promoted the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of endogenous NSCs by activating the ERK1/2 and STAT3 pathways, and CDNF exerted an obvious neuroprotective effect on brain ischemia-reperfusion injury. These findings provide new information regarding the application of the scaffold material RADA16-I hydrogel and the neurotrophic factor CDNF in neural tissue engineering and suggest that RADA16-I hydrogel and CDNF microinjection may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of stroke.