Endogenous neural stem cells (eNSCs) in the adult brain, which have the potential to self-renew and differentiate into functional, tissue-appropriate cell types, have raised new expectations for neurological disease therapy. Low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFUS)-induced blood–brain barrier modulation has been reported to promote neurogenesis. Although these studies have reported improved behavioral performance and enhanced expression of brain biomarkers after LIFUS, indicating increased neurogenesis, the precise mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated eNSC activation as a mechanism for neurogenesis after LIFUS-induced blood–brain barrier modulation. We evaluated the specific eNSC markers, Sox-2 and nestin, to confirm the activation of eNSCs. We also performed 3′-deoxy-3′[¹⁸F] fluoro-L-thymidine positron emission tomography ([¹⁸F] FLT-PET) to evaluate the activation of eNSCs. The expression of Sox-2 and nestin was significantly upregulated 1 week after LIFUS. After 1 week, the upregulated expression decreased sequentially; after 4 weeks, the upregulated expression returned to that of the control group. [¹⁸F] FLT-PET images also showed higher stem cell activity after 1 week. The results of this study indicated that LIFUS could activate eNSCs and induce adult neurogenesis. These results show that LIFUS may be useful as an effective treatment for patients with neurological damage or neurological disorders in clinical settings.

The combination of dielectrophoresis and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy provides an effective method for analyzing the Raman characteristics and the dielectrophoretic behavior of polystyrene beads and U-87MG cells in a microfluidic environment.

Low-dose radiation-induced caspase-3 activates carrier-free MMAE prodrug nanoparticles in tumor cells. The released MMAE induces mitotic arrest and a bystander effect, which amplifies apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer.