Effect of different regions of Nogo-A on the differentiation of neural progenitors.

Nogo-A is an inhibitor of neurite outgrowth and axonal regeneration after CNS injury. Several functional regions including Nogo-66 were identified to mediate the inhibitory effect of Nogo-A. We have reported that Nogo-66 could promote neural progenitors to differentiate into glial cells. Here we exam three other regions of Nogo-A and show two of them also mediate the differentiation of neural progenitors. A 172-residues N-terminal region and a 37-residues C-terminal region of Nogo-A both could inhibit neuronal differentiation and promoted glial cell formation. This study illustrated that Nogo-A had multiple functional domains on the behavior of neuronal cells. The inhibitory effect of neural differentiation of Nogo-A may also contribute to its restraint of CNS repair.