Induction of Targeted Differentiation of Dermal Mesenchymal Stem Cells Into Neural Lineage According to Peroxiredoxin II Expression

BACKGROUND/AIM

To optimize the therapeutic potential of stem cells in stem cell therapy for neurological diseases, it is crucial to enhance the differentiation, migration, and neural network formation of stem cells, and to eliminate uncertain cell differentiation and proliferation factors. Several studies have shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important factors in the regulation of neurogenesis, and Prx II (Peroxiredoxin II) is a gene that regulates ROS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

As the entry point in this study to conduct a bioinformatics analysis of the sequencing results of Prx II^+/+ dermal mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) and Prx II^-/- DMSCs. lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA networks were then constructed and preliminarily verified in RT-qPCR experiments.

RESULTS

In this study, a total of 11 hub genes (Gria1, Nrcam, Sox10, Snap25, Cntn2, Dlg2, Ngf, Ntrk3, Amph, Syt1, and Cd24a), eight miRNAs (miRNA-4661, miRNA-34a, miRNA-185, miRNA-34b-5p, miRNA-34c, miRNA-449a, miRNA-449b, miRNA-449c) and 12 lncRNAs (Dubr, Gas5, Gm20427, Gm26917, Gm42547, Gm8066, Kcnq1ot1, Malat1, Mir17hg, Neat1, Rian, and Tug1) were predicted in lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA network.

CONCLUSION

The regulatory mechanism of Prx II in the differentiation of DMSCs into neurons through ROS was explored, and a theoretical basis was determined that can be applied in future research on nervous system diseases and the clinical applications of stem cells.

Peroxiredoxin II Maintains the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential against Alcohol-Induced Apoptosis in HT22 Cells

Excessive alcohol intake can significantly reduce cognitive function and cause irreversible learning and memory disorders. The brain is particularly vulnerable to alcohol-induced ROS damage; the hippocampus is one of the most sensitive areas of the brain for alcohol neurotoxicity. In the present study, we observed significant increasing of intracellular ROS accumulations in Peroxiredoxin II (Prx II) knockdown HT22 cells, which were induced by alcohol treatments. We also found that the level of ROS in mitochondrial was also increased, resulting in a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential. The phosphorylation of GSK3β (Ser9) and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2 expression levels were significantly downregulated in Prx II knockdown HT22 cells, which suggests that Prx II knockdown HT22 cells were more susceptible to alcohol-induced apoptosis. Scavenging the alcohol-induced ROS with NAC significantly decreased the intracellular ROS levels, as well as the phosphorylation level of GSK3β in Prx II knockdown HT22 cells. Moreover, NAC treatment also dramatically restored the mitochondrial membrane potential and the cellular apoptosis in Prx II knockdown HT22 cells. Our findings suggest that Prx II plays a crucial role in alcohol-induced neuronal cell apoptosis by regulating the cellular ROS levels, especially through regulating the ROS-dependent mitochondrial membrane potential. Consequently, Prx II may be a therapeutic target molecule for alcohol-induced neuronal cell death, which is closely related to ROS-dependent mitochondria dysfunction.