RESUMO
The ability to self-renew is one of the most important properties of embryonic stem (ES) cells. Pluripotin (SC1), a small molecule with high activity and low toxicity, promotes self-renewal in mouse ES cells. SC1 can noticeably change the morphology of retinoic acid (RA)-induced F9 embryonic carcinoma cells (F9 cells). However, in the long term, RA and SC1 together cause cell apoptosis. When being added after 18-24 h of RA-induced F9 cell differentiation, SC1 transitorily activated Nanog and Oct4. Both Nanog and Oct4 were downregulated when SC1 and RA were added simultaneously. On the other hand, Klf4 was continually activated when SC1 was added between 6 and 24 h. Phosphorylated Erk1/2 protein levels were reduced from 6 to 24 h, whereas unphosphorylated Erk1 protein levels remained unchanged. A higher concentration of SC1 promoted cell self-renewal by strengthening the inhibition of Erk1/2 protein phosphorylation in F9 cells. Furthermore, SC1 and RA affect global DNA methylation by influencing the expressions of methylation-associated proteins, including Dnmt3b, Dnmt3l, Tet1, Tet2, and Tet3. In conclusion, SC1 inhibits the differentiation of RA-induced F9 cells mainly by reducing the levels of phosphorylated Erk1/2 and enhancing the expression of Klf4, although it also reduces DNA methylation, which may have an additional effect on ES cell differentiation.
Assuntos
Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Diferenciação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Pirazóis/farmacologia , Pirimidinas/farmacologia , Tretinoína/farmacologia , Animais , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Apoptose/genética , Carcinoma Embrionário/genética , Carcinoma Embrionário/metabolismo , Carcinoma Embrionário/patologia , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/genética , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/metabolismo , Metilação de DNA/efeitos dos fármacos , Metilação de DNA/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Fator 4 Semelhante a Kruppel , Camundongos , Proteína Homeobox Nanog/genética , Proteína Homeobox Nanog/metabolismo , Fator 3 de Transcrição de Octâmero/genética , Fator 3 de Transcrição de Octâmero/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/metabolismoRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Self-renewal is one of the most important features of embryonic stem (ES) cells. SC1 is a small molecule modulator that effectively maintains the self-renewal of mouse ES cells in the absence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), serum and feeder cells. However, the mechanism by which SC1 maintains the undifferentiated state of mouse ES cells remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, microarray and small RNA deep-sequencing experiments were performed on mouse ES cells treated with or without SC1 to identify the key genes and microRNAs that contributed to self-renewal. RESULTS: SC1 regulates the expressions of pluripotency and differentiation factors, and antagonizes the retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation in the presence or absence of LIF. SC1 inhibits the MEK/ERK pathway through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis and pathway reporting experiments. Small RNA deep-sequencing revealed that SC1 significantly modulates the expression of multiple microRNAs with crucial functions in ES cells. The expression of miR124-3p is upregulated in SC1-treated ES cells, which significantly inhibits the MEK/ERK pathway by targeting Grb2, Sos2 and Egr1. CONCLUSION: SC1 enhances the self-renewal capacity of mouse ES cells by modulating the expression of key regulatory genes and pluripotency-associated microRNAs. SC1 significantly upregulates miR124-3p expression to further inhibit the MEK/ ERK pathway by targeting Grb2, Sos2 and Egr1.