Expression of chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR2, CCR5 and CX3CR1 in neural progenitor cells isolated from the subventricular zone of the adult rat brain.

We have studied the expression of chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR2, CCR5, and CX3CR1 at the mRNA and protein levels in adult neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in neurosphere cultures using RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry methods. NPCs were isolated from the subventricular zone of adult rat brain and propagated in vitro as neurospheres. The neurospheres showed immunoactivity of nestin, an intermediate filament marker for NPCs. NPCs in the neurosphere cultures differentiated into NeuN-, GFAP-, or GalC-positive cells in vitro. Using cultured cortical microglial cells as positive control, we demonstrated the mRNA expression of CXCR4, CCR2, CCR5, and CX3CR1 in neurospheres by RT-PCR. Double immunofluorescent staining further confirmed the co-localization of nestin with either CXCR4, CCR2, CCR5, or CX3CR1 on neurospheres. These results suggest that adult NPCs in the neurosphere cultures express chemokine receptors CXCR4, CCR2, CCR5, and CX3CR1.