Lowered glucose suppressed the proliferation and increased the differentiation of murine neural stem cells in vitro.

Cerebral ischemia is known to activate endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs), but its mechanisms remain unknown. Since lowered glucose supply seems to mediate ischemic actions, we examined the effect of low glucose on NSC activities in vitro. Low glucose applied during the proliferation period diminished EGF-induced proliferation of NSCs without affecting subsequent differentiation, but low glucose directly exposed during the differentiation period facilitated the differentiation of NSCs into neurons and astrocytes. These findings suggest that low glucose facilitated NSC differentiation, but it diminished NSC proliferation. Moreover, the effect of low glucose may be dependent on the timing of application.