背景：運動神經元疾病是最常見的神經退化性疾病，包括肌萎縮性側索硬化症（ALS），帕金森氏病，這是神經細胞逐漸喪失的原因。 NSC-34細胞係由小鼠脊髓細胞與神經母細胞瘤雜交所生成的融合瘤，在研究低強度低頻超音波（LIPUS）的作用中，提供了一個有效的模型用來研究運動神經元疾病的療法。
方法：在種細胞的第2天和第4天後，使用LIPUS刺激NSC-34細胞。與對照組進行比較，使用中心頻率為1.15 MHz且總能量（171.25 W / cm2）的非聚焦換能器，並透過充滿水的壓克力管持續以機械效應刺激NSC-34細胞8分鐘可以促使細胞增殖，也會提升NSC-34細胞的形態分化。另外，還根據NSC-34的神經突的增生檢查陽離子通道和一些轉錄因子。
結果：在171.25 W / cm2的超音波作用下，LIPUS組在第2天和第4天之NSC-34細胞的增殖和形態分化顯著增加。此外，我們還發現由於鈣離子的正向作用，LIPUS組的神經突出向外生長，並且與鈣依賴性轉錄因子（NFAT, NFB和CREB）具有重要且密切之相關。我們的發現闡明LIPUS對NSC-34運動神經元的刺激可誘導鈣信號以激活鈣依賴性轉錄因子，從而促進神經細胞形態改變以及數量的顯著增加。LIPUS是未來可應用於改善運動神經元疾病治療的非侵入性方法。

Background: Motor neuron diseases are primarily common neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, which is a gradual loss of nerve cells. NSC-34 cell line is a hybridoma generated by mouse spinal cord cells with neuroblastoma used to be investigated the effect of the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) that presents a valid model system for investigating the treatment of motor neuron diseases.
Methods: The NSC-34 cells were stimulated by LIPUS on day 2 and day 4 after seeding. A non-focused transducer 1 MHz of frequency and total energy level (171.25 W/cm2) was used to stimulate the NSC-34 cells through a water tube by the mechanical effects for 8 minutes. Then, cell proliferation, the morphological changes of NSC-34 cells under LIPUS stimulation were taken and compared with control groups. In addition, the calcium (Ca2+) channels and some Ca2+-dependent transcriptions factors were also examined based on the enhanced neurite outgrowth of NSC-34.
Results: The proliferation and morphological changes of NSC-34 were significantly increased in the LIPUS group on days 2 and 4. Furthermore, we also found that neurite outgrowth in LIPUS groups due to the positive effects of Ca2+ signalings are important in and closely related to Ca2+-dependent transcription factors (NFAT; NFB and CREB). Our findings suggested that stimulation of LIPUS to NSC-34 motor neurons induced calcium signals to activate transcription factors, which facilitate significantly increased morphology as well as the number of nerve cells. LIPUS is a non-invasive method that can be applied to improve the treatment of motor neuron diseases in the future.

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