Dynamic expression of srGAP2 in cell nuclei and cytoplasm during the differentiation of rat neural stem cells in vitro

Different SLIT-ROBO Rho GTPase-activating proteins (srGAPs) have different levels of expression and diverse functions during neural development. Although srGAP2 is expressed in developmental brain tissue, little is known about its influence on cellular development of the nervous system. In the current study, dynamic expression of endogenous srGAP2 during neural stem cell/progenitor cell (NSC/NPC) differentiation in vitro was investigated in order to elucidate the association between the dynamic expression of srGAP2 and neural development. srGAP2 was expressed in undifferentiated NSCs/NPCs, and differentiated neurons and astrocytes with distinct expression patterns. In conjunction with the differentiation of NSCs/NPCs in vitro, the number of srGAP2+ cells markedly reduced. The percentage of srGAP2+ cells in the population of nestin+ and β-tubulin III+ cells was significantly downregulated while in the population of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells, almost all cells were srGAP2+. srGAP2 was predominantly expressed in the cell nucleus in all cell types. srGAP2 was also weakly expressed in the cytoplasm of nestin+ and β-tubulin III+ cells at 3 and 7 days in vitro. However levels were gradually downregulated during the process of differentiation and almost disappeared in β-tubulin III+ cells at 14 days. The results from the present study suggest that srGAP2 is involved in regulating NSC/NPC differentiation during neural development. The translocation of srGAP2 in the cytoplasm and cell nucleus in different cell types may function as a director in decisions regarding cell fate.