miR ‐124 promotes neural differentiation in mouse bulge stem cells by repressing Ptbp1 and Sox9

miR ‐124 andlet ‐7b are upregulated in hair follicle bulge cells after neural differentiation.Upregulation ofmiR ‐124 triggers neural differentiation.Ptbp1 andSox9 mRNAs are directmiR ‐124 targets during neural differentiation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). AbstractHair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are able to differentiate into neurons and glial cells. Distinct microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the proliferation and differentiation of HFSCs. However, the exact role of miR ‐124 in the neural differentiation of HFSCs has not been elucidated. HFSCs were isolated from mouse whisker follicles.miR ‐9,let ‐7b, andmiR ‐124, Ptbp1 , andSox9 expression levels were detected by real ‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The influence ofmiR ‐124 transfection was evaluated using immunostaining. We demonstrated thatmiR ‐124 andlet ‐7b expression levels were significantly increased after the neural differentiation.Sox9 andPtbp1 were identified as the target ofmiR ‐124 in the HFSCs. During neural differentiation andmiR ‐124 mimicking, Ptbp1 andSox9 levels were decreased. Moreover, themiR ‐124 overexpression increased MAP2 (58.43  ± 11.26) and NeuN (48.34 ± 11.15) proteins expression. The results demonstrated thatmiR ‐124 may promote the differentiation of HFSCs into neuronal cells by targetingSox9 andPtbp1.
Source: Journal of Cellular Physiology - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research