Suppression of cell cycle progression by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor PJ34 in neural stem/progenitor cells.

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) express higher levels of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) than mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Inhibition of PARP induces the expression of several genes in the p53 signaling pathway, including p21, which is critical for cell cycle control at the G1/S phase, triggers apoptosis, and suppresses cell cycle progression in NSPCs. However, upon the up-regulation of p21, the cell cycle does not arrest at any specific phase.