Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of mifepristone on the survival, proliferation and differentiation of rat embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) in vitro and then to investigate its effect on neural development. Methods Different concentrations of mifepristone were used to treat the cultured rat embryonic NSCs. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), growth curve, flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry staining were used to investigate the viability, proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of NSCs. Results NSCs viability and proliferation significantly reduced after treatment of 10-5 mol/L mifepristone (P＜0.05). No significant difference was observed after the treatment with mifepristone at 10-6 and 10-8 mol/L. Mifepristone at 10-7 mol/L enhances the proliferation of NSCs, but did not affect its mitochondrial membrane potential and the multiple differentiation. There is no significant difference in the ratio of differentiated β-tubulin Ⅲ+ neurons and GFAP+ glia. Conclusion Effect of mifepristone on NSCs is dosage dependent. Mifepristone at high concentration (10-5 mol/L) attenuates the survival and proliferation of NSCs. However, 10-7 mol/L mifepristone does not affect NSCs apoptosis and differentiation but enhances their proliferation.

Key words: mifepristone, neural stem cells, proliferation/differentiation, apoptosis