The neurofilament derived-peptide NFL-TBS.40-63 enters in-vitro in human neural stem cells and increases their differentiation

<div><p>Regenerative medicine is a promising approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases by replacing degenerating cells like neurons or oligodendrocytes. Targeting human neural stem cells directly in the brain is a big challenge in such a strategy. The neurofilament derived NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide has recently been introduced as a novel tool to target neural stem cells. Previous studies showed that this peptide can be internalized by rat neural stem cells <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>, which coincided with lower proliferation and self-renewal capacity and increase of differentiation. In this study, we analyzed the uptake and potential effects of the NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide on human neural stem cells isolated from human fetuses. We showed that the peptide inhibits proliferation and the ability to produce neurospheres <i>in vitro</i>, which is consistent with an increase in cell adhesion and differentiation. These results confirm that the peptide could be a promising molecule to target and manipulate human neural stem cells and thus could serve as a strategic tool for regenerative medicine.</p>