From cellular to chemical approach for acute neural and alternative options for age-induced functional diseases

Figure 1 Sex steroid doses and combinations in vascular smooth muscle cell cultures. Reprinted from[68] with permission, ©Page Press Publications. A-D: Control (A), vehicle (B), high estrogen (E2 60 microM) (C), and high testosterone (TS 60 microM)-treated cultures of vascular SMC showed no morphological changes (D); E: High progesterone treatment (PG 60 microM) was, however, associated with occasional neuronal type cells; F: This was not observed in cultures with diluted progesterone (PG 20 microM); G: Cultures with high PG and high TS showed numerous neural type cells; H: Cultures with diluted PG and high TS showed direct nuclear transdifferentiation into neuronal type cells with branching extensions; I: Diluted estradiol and PG and high TS caused formation of undifferentiated stem type cells. Open yellow arrowheads indicate neural/neuronal type cell bodies, green arrowheads indicate extensions. Green arrowhead in panel I indicates bubble-like anchor. Ctr: Control; E: Estradiol; Ed: Estradiol diluted; P: Progesterone; Pd: Progesterone diluted; PT: Progesterone + testosterone; Veh: Vehicle; TS: Testosterone; PG: Progesterone.