Nurr1 promotes neurogenesis of dopaminergic neuron and represses inflammatory factors in the transwell coculture system of neural stem cells and microglia.

Introduction: Neural stem cells (NSCs) are the most promising cells for cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). However, a majority of the transplanted NSCs differentiated into glial cells, thereby limiting the clinical application. Previous studies indicated that chronic neuroinflammation plays a vital role in the degeneration of midbrain DA (mDA) neurons, which suggested the developing potential of therapies for PD by targeting the inflammatory processes. Thus, Nurr1 (nuclear receptor-related factor 1), a transcription factor, has been referred to play a pivotal role in both the differentiation of dopaminergic neurons in embryonic stages and the maintenance of the dopaminergic phenotype throughout life.

Aim: This study investigated the effect of Nurr1 on neuroinflammation and differentiation of NSCs cocultured with primary microglia in the transwell coculture system.

Results: The results showed that Nurr1 exerted anti-inflammatory effects and promoted the differentiation of NSCs into dopaminergic neurons.

Conclusions: The results suggested that Nurr1 protects dopaminergic neurons from neuroinflammation insults by limiting the production of neurotoxic mediators by microglia and maintain the survival of transplanted NSCs. These phenomena provided a new theoretical and experimental foundation for the transplantation of Nurr1-overexpressed NSCs as a potential treatment of PD.