Study on self-regeneration of the central nervous system by perineuronal progenitor cell

在大鼠大脑皮层，发现存在于神经元胞体周围的细胞，具有很强的增殖活性。我们将这些细胞命名为“神经周祖细胞”。神经周祖细胞在生理条件下分化为未成熟的抑制性神经元、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞。在神经元变性或过度兴奋的情况下，细胞表现出促增殖作用。这些结果表明，神经周祖细胞在中枢神经系统的组织修复中起着重要的作用。我们利用DNA芯片系统探索了诱导神经周祖细胞增殖或分化的物质，并发现了一些物质。老年动物神经周祖细胞数量减少。这一现象表明，这些细胞与大脑萎缩或认知功能障碍有关。对细胞的更多研究将为神经系统疾病的发生机制带来新的概念。

In the rat cerebral cortex, cells which exist around neuronal cell somata and have a potent proliferative activity were found. We named the cells "perineuronal progenitor cells". The perineuronal progenitor cells differentiated into immature inhibitory neurons and astrocytes as well as oligodendrocytes, under physiological condition. The cells showed the facilitation of proliferation under neuronal degeneration or excessive excitation of neurons. These results indicated that the perineuronal progenitor cells play an important role in tissue repair of the central nervous system.We explored substances which induce proliferation or differentiation of the perineuronal progenitor cells by using a DNA mic roarray system, and could find some substances. The number of the perineuronal progenitor cells decreased in aged animals. This phenomenon suggests that the cells are involved in atrophy of the brain or cognitive disfunction. More studies on the cells will bring about new concepts on mechanism of the occurrence of neurological disorders.