title: MicroRNA-9 promotes the neuronal differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by activating autophagy.
abstract: MicroRNA-9 (miR-9) has been shown to promote the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neuronal cells, but the precise mechanism is unclear. Our previous study confirmed that increased autophagic activity improved the efficiency of neuronal differentiation in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Accumulating evidence reveals that miRNAs adjust the autophagic pathways. This study used miR-9-1 lentiviral vector and miR-9-1 inhibitor to modulate the expression level of miR-9. Autophagic activity and neuronal differentiation were measured by the number of light chain-3 (LC3)-positive dots, the ratio of LC3-II/LC3, and the expression levels of the neuronal markers enolase and microtubule-associated protein 2. Results showed that LC3-positive dots, the ratio of LC3-II/LC3, and expression of neuron specific enolase and microtubule-associated protein 2 increased in the miR-9(+) group. The above results suggest that autophagic activity increased and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were prone to differentiate into neuronal cells when miR-9 was overexpressed, demonstrating that miR-9 can promote neuronal differentiation by increasing autophagic activity.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation and Treatment Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy of Henan Province, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Yu
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation and Treatment Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy of Henan Province, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation and Treatment Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy of Henan Province, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation and Treatment Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy of Henan Province, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Deng-Na
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Zhu
keywords: LC3; autophagy; bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; differentiation; microRNA-9; microtubule-associated protein; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuron specific enolase; neuron-like cells