Figure 4.

Expression of MEF2CA in ESC-derived neural progenitor cells stimulates the growth of neuritic processes. Morphological and morphometric assessment of differentiating stably transfected neural progenitors revealed that MEF2CA/EGFP-expressing cells developed many more neurites than cells expressing EGFP alone. After culturing from dissociated neurospheres, cells were deprived of mitotic factors (EGF and FGF2) for 2 d to decrease proliferation and allow differentiation. A–D, Phase and epifluorescence views of cells with neurites. E, Quantitative assessment of neurite outgrowth 1 and 2 d after plating. Percentage of neurite-bearing cells is expressed as mean + SEM from five separate experiments. *p < 0.001 above control cultures. Scale bar, 50 μm (all panels).