miR-375 Promotes Pancreatic Differentiation In Vitro by Affecting Different Target Genes at Different Stages

Zhenyu Lu; Jing Wang; Xu Wang; Zhiying Li; Dan Niu; Min Wang; Jinzhu Xiang; Yongli Yue; Yajuan Xia; Xueling Li

doi:10.1155/2021/6642983

miR-375 Promotes Pancreatic Differentiation In Vitro by Affecting Different Target Genes at Different Stages

Stem Cells Int. 2021 Apr 7:2021:6642983. doi: 10.1155/2021/6642983. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zhenyu Lu¹, Jing Wang¹, Xu Wang¹, Zhiying Li¹, Dan Niu¹, Min Wang¹, Jinzhu Xiang¹, Yongli Yue¹, Yajuan Xia², Xueling Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China.
² Inner Mongolia Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hohhot, China.

Abstract

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess the ability to differentiate into insulin-producing cells (IPCs), which can be used to treat type I diabetes. miR-375 is an essential transcriptional regulator in the development and maturation of the pancreas. In this study, we optimized a protocol to differentiate hESCs into IPCs and successfully obtained IPCs. Then, we performed overexpression and inhibition experiments of miR-375 on cells at different stages of differentiation and performed RNA-seq. The results showed that the expression of miR-375 fluctuated during hESC differentiation and was affected by miR-375 mimics and inhibitors. miR-375 influences global gene expression and the target genes of miR-375. The overexpression of miR-375 can cause changes in multiple signaling pathways during pancreatic development. miR-375 is a major participant in the differentiation of pancreatic β-cells through different target genes at different stages. This study provides new ideas for further investigation of how microRNAs affect cell fate and gene transcription.