title: Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Activity is Required for Appropriate Cardiomyocyte Differentiation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a member of the PPAR nuclear receptor superfamily. Although PPARγ acts as a master transcription factor in adipocyte differentiation, it is also associated with a variety of cell functions including carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, glucose homeostasis, cell proliferation and cell differentiation. This study aimed to assess the expression level of PPARγ in order to address its role in cardiac cell differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this an intervening study, mESCs were subjected to cardiac differentiation. Total RNA was extracted from the cells and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was carried out to estimate level of gene expression. Furthermore, the requirement of PPARγ in cardiac differentiation of mESCs, during cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) formation, was examined by applying the respective agonist and antagonist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The obtained data revealed an elevation in the expression level of PPARγ during spontaneous formation of CPCs and cardiomyocytes. Our results indicated that during CPC formation, PPARγ inactivation via treatment with GW9662 (GW) reduced expression of CPC and cardiac markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that PPARγ modulation has an effective role on cardiac differentiation of mESCs at the early stage of cardiomyogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peymani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran; Department of Cellular Biotechnology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghaedi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Irani
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Biotechnology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nasr-Esfahani
keywords: Differentiation; Embryonic Stem Cell; PPARγ