Suppression of MicroRNA let-7a Expression by Agmatine Regulates Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

PurposeNeural stem cells (NSCs) effectively reverse some severe central nervous system (CNS) disorders, due to their ability to differentiate into neurons. Agmatine, a biogenic amine, has cellular protective effects and contributes to cellular proliferation and differentiation in the CNS. Recent studies have elucidated the function of microRNA let-7a (let-7a) as a regulator of cell differentiation with roles in regulating genes associated with CNS neurogenesis.ResultsOur data suggest that high levels of let-7a promoted the expression of TLX and c-Myc, as well as repressed DCX and ERK expression. In addition, agmatine attenuated expression of TLX and increased expression of ERK by negatively regulating let-7a.ConclusionOur study therefore enhances the present understanding of the therapeutic potential of NSCs in CNS disorders.     

REST/NRSF基因shRNA慢病毒载体的构建与鉴定

背景：神经元限制性沉默因子(REST/NRSF)能负向调控神经元及胰岛细胞分化相关基因的表达。 目的：构建并筛选能高效沉默大鼠REST/NRSF基因的shRNA慢病毒载体。 方法：针对REST/NRSF基因设计4组特异性siRNA靶点,合成靶序列的寡核苷酸序列,退火形成双链DNA,与经Hpa Ⅰ 和Xho Ⅰ双酶切后的pFU-GW-RNAi载体连接产生L-shREST/NRSF慢病毒载体,PCR筛选阳性克隆,测序鉴定。包装产生慢病毒颗粒,随后将其感染大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞,采用 Real-time PCR方法检测靶基因在 mRNA 水平的沉默效率。 结果与结论：PCR和测序证实,构建出了REST/NRSF shRNA的慢病毒载体L-shREST/NRSF,并能稳定转染大鼠间充质干细胞,感染效率达100%。4组shRNA序列均有基因沉默效果,并以第3组shRN序列效果最为明显。结果表明,该慢病毒表达载体能够在细胞水平有效沉默靶基因。