title: Inhibition of Sirt1 promotes neural progenitors toward motoneuron differentiation from human embryonic stem cells.
abstract: Several protocols direct human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) toward differentiation into functional motoneurons, but the efficiency of motoneuron generation varies based on the human ESC line used. We aimed to develop a novel protocol to increase the formation of motoneurons from human ESCs. In this study, we tested a nuclear histone deacetylase protein, Sirt1, to promote neural precursor cell (NPC) development during differentiation of human ESCs into motoneurons. A specific inhibitor of Sirt1, nicotinamide, dramatically increased motoneuron formation. We found that about 60% of the cells from the total NPCs expressed HB9 and βIII-tubulin, commonly used motoneuronal markers found in neurons derived from ESCs following nicotinamide treatment. Motoneurons derived from ESC expressed choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), a positive marker of mature motoneuron. Moreover, we also examined the transcript levels of Mash1, Ngn2, and HB9 mRNA in the differentiated NPCs treated with the Sirt1 activator resveratrol (50 μM) or inhibitor nicotinamide (100 μM). The levels of Mash1, Ngn2, and HB9 mRNA were significantly increased after nicotinamide treatment compared with control groups, which used the traditional protocol. These results suggested that increasing Mash1 and Ngn2 levels by inhibiting Sirt1 could elevate HB9 expression, which promotes motoneuron differentiation. This study provides an alternative method for the production of transplantable motoneurons, a key requirement in the development of hESC-based cell therapy in motoneuron disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002460:Cell Line; D015536:Down-Regulation; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000601:surgery; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D055495:Neurogenesis; D056564:Sirtuin 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D056564:Sirtuin 1; C065500:ASCL1 protein, human; C491257:HOXB9 protein, human; C491183:NEUROG2 protein, human; C447939:SIRT1 protein, human