Notch信号通路与间充质干细胞分化

Notch Signaling in Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells——Review

间充质干细胞(MSC)是具有多向分化能力的成体干细胞,在体外培养中可以被诱导分化为骨、软骨、脂肪、肌肉细胞;另外,MSC也可跨系分化为神经细胞、心肌细胞、肝脏细胞等多种其他组织细胞。Notch信号通路广泛存在于各种动物细胞中,在调节细胞分化、增殖和凋亡中发挥重要作用,它的配体和受体都是细胞膜表面蛋白,因此是介导细胞间通讯的一种重要方式。现有研究表明:在MSC多条分化途径中都有Notch通路存在。本文针对Notch信号通路在MSC分化中的影响做一综述。

Mesenchymal stem cell （MSC） is an adult stem cell which has the multipotential differentiation ability. In vitro experiments demonstrated that MSC is able to differentiate into various lineage cells including bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle cells. In addition, MSC has also been shown to differentiate into neural precursors, cardiomyocytes, liver cells, and possible other cell types. The Notch pathway is a highly conserved signaling mechanism involved in many processes determining cell fate during the animal development, and plays an important role in the regulation of cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Notch ligands and receptors are both transmembrane proteins, and suggest that Notch-mediated cellular interaction is an important way in cell to cell communication. Studies of Notch function provide evidence that Notch signaling affects various differentiation capabilities of MSC. In this review, the roles of Notch signaling in differentiation of MSC are summarized.