title: Involvement of neuropeptide Y and its Y1 and Y5 receptors in maintaining self-renewal and proliferation of human embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NPY receptors are widely expressed in various organs and cell types and have been shown to have pleiotropic functions. However, their presence or role in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remains unknown. We now show that undifferentiated hESCs primarily express NPY and its Y1 and Y5 receptors. Inhibition of NPY signalling using either the selective NPY Y1 or Y5 receptor antagonist reduces the maintenance of self-renewal and proliferation of undifferentiated hESCs. We also provide compelling evidence that exogenous NPY supports the long-term growth of undifferentiated hESCs in the absence of feeder cell factors using only knockout serum replacement media. Further, NPY facilitates the use of chemically defined medium made up of N2/B27 supplement and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for hESC feeder-free culture. Our results indicate that both Y1 and Y5 receptors appear to be involved in the NPY-mediated activation of AKT/protein kinase B and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in hESCs. Notably, only Y1 receptor, but not Y5 receptor, is responsible for the NPY-induced activation of cAMP-response element binding (CREB) in hESCs. These results provide the first evidence that NPY and its Y1 and Y5 receptors have potential role in maintaining hESC self-renewal and pluripotency. We demonstrate the underlying importance of NPY signalling and its usefulness in the development of a defined and xeno-free culture condition for the large-scale propagation of undifferentiated hESCs.
authors.affiliation: Development & Differentiation Research Center, KRIBB, Eoeundong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Min-Jeong
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kweon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Deog-Bon
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Yee Sook
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D017476:Receptors, Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C115163:CREB1 protein, human; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D017476:Receptors, Neuropeptide Y; C097212:neuropeptide Y-Y1 receptor; C100568:neuropeptide Y5 receptor; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase