TY  - JOUR
A1  - Engert, Jonas
A1  - Spahn, Bjoern
A1  - Bieniussa, Linda
A1  - Hagen, Rudolf
A1  - Rak, Kristen
A1  - Voelker, Johannes
T1  - Neurogenic stem cell niche in the auditory Thalamus: in vitro evidence of neural stem cells in the rat medial geniculate body
JF  - Life
N2  - The medial geniculate body (MGB) is a nucleus of the diencephalon representing a relevant segment of the auditory pathway and is part of the metathalamus. It receives afferent information via the inferior brachium of the inferior colliculus and transmits efferent fibers via acoustic radiations to the auditory cortex. Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been detected in certain areas along the auditory pathway. They are of great importance as the induction of an adult stem cell niche might open a regenerative approach to a causal treatment of hearing disorders. Up to now, the existence of NSCs in the MGB has not been determined. Therefore, this study investigated whether the MGB has a neural stem cell potential. For this purpose, cells were extracted from the MGB of PND 8 Sprague-Dawley rats and cultured in a free-floating cell culture assay, which showed mitotic activity and positive staining for stem cell and progenitor markers. In differentiation assays, the markers β-III-tubulin, GFAP, and MBP demonstrated the capacity of single cells to differentiate into neuronal and glial cells. In conclusion, cells from the MGB exhibited the cardinal features of NSCs: self-renewal, the formation of progenitor cells, and differentiation into all neuronal lineage cells. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the development of the auditory pathway.
KW  - neurosphere
KW  - auditory pathway
KW  - neural stem cell potential
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319387
SN  - 2075-1729
VL  - 13
IS  - 5
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Engert, Jonas
A1  - Doll, Julia
A1  - Vona, Barbara
A1  - Ehret Kasemo, Totta
A1  - Spahn, Bjoern
A1  - Hagen, Rudolf
A1  - Rak, Kristen
A1  - Voelker, Johannes
T1  - mRNA abundance of neurogenic factors correlates with hearing capacity in auditory brainstem nuclei of the rat
JF  - Life
N2  - Neural stem cells (NSCs) have previously been described up to the adult stage in the rat cochlear nucleus (CN). A decreasing neurogenic potential was observed with critical changes around hearing onset. A better understanding of molecular factors affecting NSCs and neurogenesis is of interest as they represent potential targets to treat the cause of neurologically based hearing disorders. The role of genes affecting NSC development and neurogenesis in CN over time on hearing capacity has remained unclear. This study investigated the mRNA abundance of genes influencing NSCs and neurogenesis in rats’ CN over time. The CN of rats on postnatal days 6, 12, and 24 were examined. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction arrays were used to compare mRNA levels of 84 genes relevant to NSCs and neurogenesis. Age- and hearing-specific patterns of changes in mRNA abundance of neurogenically relevant genes were detected in the rat CN. Additionally, crucial neurogenic factors with significant and relevant influence on neurogenesis were identified. The results of this work should contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurogenesis of the auditory pathway.
KW  - real-time PCR
KW  - auditory pathway
KW  - neurogenesis
KW  - cochlear nucleus
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357392
SN  - 2075-1729
VL  - 13
IS  - 9
ER  -