Hepatocyte growth factor promotes proliferation and migration in immortalized progenitor cells.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met are widely expressed in the developing and adult brain. However, little is known about the role of HGF during the development of the human dopaminergic neuronal system. We have established telomerase-immortalized dopaminergic progenitor cells isolated from the fetal striatum that express markers for neural progenitor cells and tyrosine hydroxylase. We show that the cells were able to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons and release dopamine. Exogenous HGF-induced proliferation was inhibited by U0126, whereas migration was completely blocked by LY294002. Study demonstrates that HGF regulates the proliferation and migration of dopaminergic progenitor cells. Modulating dopaminergic progenitor cells in the striatum may prove to be a new approach for treating Parkinson's disease.