Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells
Abstract Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), typically resulting from direct mechanical damage to the spine, often leads to disruption of neural signaling and axonal conduction, severely impairing nervous system function. In rodent models of SCI, neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation has demonstrat...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14738-x |
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| author | Wenxu Tang Dan He Xiaofei Li Yi Feng Yue Xu Jiawei Hu Wei Xu Lei Xue |
| author_facet | Wenxu Tang Dan He Xiaofei Li Yi Feng Yue Xu Jiawei Hu Wei Xu Lei Xue |
| author_sort | Wenxu Tang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), typically resulting from direct mechanical damage to the spine, often leads to disruption of neural signaling and axonal conduction, severely impairing nervous system function. In rodent models of SCI, neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation has demonstrated significant potential in restoring motor function and enhancing neural repair. Additionally, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) have demonstrated efficacy in promoting nerve regeneration and activating spinal circuits. However, studies exploring how ELF-EMFs influence NSC activation remain limited. In this study, using spinal cord-derived NSCs from adult mice, we report that ELF-EMFs enhance cell proliferation and self-renewal by upregulating Sox2 expression. Furthermore, we addressed the underlying mechanisms and found that ELF-EMFs activate T-type calcium channels and enhance calcium currents. The resulting increase in intercellular calcium concentration upregulates the expression of NeuroG1 and NeuroD1, promoting neuronal differentiation of NSCs and enhancing neurite outgrowth. Our findings provide new insights into the ELF-EMF-mediated activation of NSCs and highlight their potential for integration into combination therapies and SCI repair. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6c1b09a5bc2048c488fdf19ff0df2fd7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-6c1b09a5bc2048c488fdf19ff0df2fd72025-08-20T03:04:25ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-14738-xExtremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cellsWenxu Tang0Dan He1Xiaofei Li2Yi Feng3Yue Xu4Jiawei Hu5Wei Xu6Lei Xue7Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityInstitute for Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of MedicineDepartment of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityDivision of Spine, Department of Orthopaedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of MedicineDepartment of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan UniversityAbstract Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), typically resulting from direct mechanical damage to the spine, often leads to disruption of neural signaling and axonal conduction, severely impairing nervous system function. In rodent models of SCI, neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation has demonstrated significant potential in restoring motor function and enhancing neural repair. Additionally, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) have demonstrated efficacy in promoting nerve regeneration and activating spinal circuits. However, studies exploring how ELF-EMFs influence NSC activation remain limited. In this study, using spinal cord-derived NSCs from adult mice, we report that ELF-EMFs enhance cell proliferation and self-renewal by upregulating Sox2 expression. Furthermore, we addressed the underlying mechanisms and found that ELF-EMFs activate T-type calcium channels and enhance calcium currents. The resulting increase in intercellular calcium concentration upregulates the expression of NeuroG1 and NeuroD1, promoting neuronal differentiation of NSCs and enhancing neurite outgrowth. Our findings provide new insights into the ELF-EMF-mediated activation of NSCs and highlight their potential for integration into combination therapies and SCI repair.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14738-xExtremely low-frequency electromagnetic fieldsSpinal cord injurySpinal cord-derived neural stem cellsCell proliferationCell differentiationPro-neuronal gene |
| spellingShingle | Wenxu Tang Dan He Xiaofei Li Yi Feng Yue Xu Jiawei Hu Wei Xu Lei Xue Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells Scientific Reports Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields Spinal cord injury Spinal cord-derived neural stem cells Cell proliferation Cell differentiation Pro-neuronal gene |
| title | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| title_full | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| title_fullStr | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| title_short | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| title_sort | extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields facilitate proliferation and functional differentiation in spinal neural stem cells |
| topic | Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields Spinal cord injury Spinal cord-derived neural stem cells Cell proliferation Cell differentiation Pro-neuronal gene |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14738-x |
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