Water-Soluble, Alanine-Modified Fullerene C₆₀ Promotes the Proliferation and Neuronal Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells

As carbon-based nanomaterials, water-soluble C60 derivatives have potential applications in various fields of biomedicine. In this study, a water-soluble fullerene C60 derivative bearing alanine residues (Ala-C60) was synthesized. The effects of Ala-C60 on neural stem cells (NSCs) as seed cells were explored. Ala-C60 can promote the proliferation of NSCs, induce NSCs to differentiate into neurons, and inhibit the migration of NSCs. Most importantly, the Ala-C60 can significantly increase the cell viability of NSCs treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The glutathioneperoxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and glutathione (GSH) content increased significantly in NSCs treated even by 20 μM Ala-C60. These findings strongly indicate that Ala-C60 has high potential to be applied as a scaffold with NSCs for regeneration in nerve tissue engineering for diseases related to the nervous system.