miR-103-3p targets Ndel1 to regulate neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation

• Published in: Neural regeneration research 2022-02, Vol.17 (2), p.401-408
• Main Authors: Li, Wen, Wang, Shan-Shan, Shan, Bo-Quan, Qin, Jian-Bing, Zhao, He-Yan, Tian, Mei-Ling, He, Hui, Cheng, Xiang, Zhang, Xin-Hua, Jin, Guo-Hua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; apoptosis; canonical wnt pathway; differentiation; mir-103-3p; ndel1; neural stem cells; neurogenesis; proliferation; Cell growth; Gene expression; Stem cells
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.317987

The regulation of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) is critical for lifelong neurogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of small, endogenous RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and influence signaling networks responsible for several cellular processes. In this study, miR-103-3p was transfected into neural stem cells derived from embryonic hippocampal neural stem cells. The results showed that miR-103-3p suppressed neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and promoted apoptosis. In addition, miR-103-3p negatively regulated NudE neurodevelopment protein 1-like 1 (Ndel1) expression by binding to the 3′ untranslated region of Ndel1. Transduction of neural stem cells with a lentiviral vector overexpressing Ndel1 significantly increased cell proliferation and differentiation, decreased neural stem cell apoptosis, and decreased protein expression levels of Wnt3a, β-catenin, phosphor-GSK-3β, LEF1, c-myc, c-Jun, and cyclin D1, all members of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. These findings suggest that Ndel1 is a novel miR-103-3p target and that miR-103-3p acts by suppressing neural stem cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis and differentiation. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nantong University, China (approval No. 20200826-003) on August 26, 2020.