ZL006 promotes migration and differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells in male rats after stroke.

New strategies must be developed to resolve the problems of stroke treatment. In recent years, stem cell-based therapy after stroke has come into the public and academic lens. Previously we have shown that uncoupling neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) from the postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) by ZL006, a small molecular compound, can ameliorate ischemic damage and promote neuronal differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) in focal cerebral ischemic male rats. In this study, we transplanted exogenous NSCs into the ipsilateral hemisphere of male rats in combination with ZL006 treatment after ischemic stroke. We show that ZL006 treatment facilitates the migration of transplanted NSCs into the ischemia-injured area and promotes neuronal differentiation of these cells, which is not due to a direct effect of ZL006 on exogenous NSCs but is associated with increased phosphorylation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in neurons and favorable microenvironment. Moreover, improved functional outcome in the ZL006-treated group was also found. Taken together, our data indicate that ZL006, uncoupling nNOS-PSD-95 in neurons, positively regulates the fate of transplanted NSCs and benefits the functional outcome after stroke in male rats.