Dual roles of GDNF in enteric glial cell plasticity: direct transdifferentiation via the CaMKII/NeuroD1 pathway and cooperative regulation in a neural stem cell-inducing medium

Key Points

• The study aims to investigate the dual roles of GDNF in promoting plasticity in enteric glial cells and its implications for neural stem cells.
• Utilized NSC-Med to assess the effects on enteric glial cells
• Analyzed gene expression profiles influenced by GDNF
• Examined the CaMKII-NeuroD1 pathway in mediating effects
• GDNF enhances stem cell-like features in enteric glial cells
• Activation of the CaMKII-NeuroD1 pathway was confirmed as a key mechanism
• Findings suggest potential therapeutic applications for HSCR