Tetrahedral DNA nanostructures functionalized by multivalent microRNA132 antisense oligonucleotides promote the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into dopaminergic neurons

Min Wei, Song Li, Zhaofei Yang, Cheng Cheng, Tianbai Li, Weidong Le

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

MicroRNA132 (miR132) negatively regulates the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons; in contrast, antisense oligonucleotide against miR132 (miR132-ASO) effectively blocks the activity of endogenous miR132 and thereafter promotes the differentiation of DAergic neurons. However, it is difficult for miR132-ASO to enter cells without a suitable delivery system. Tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs), as a new type of DNA-based nanocarrier, have great potential in biomedical applications and even have been reported to promote stem cell differentiation. In this study, we developed functional multivalent DNA nanostructures by appending miR132-ASO motifs to three-dimensional TDNs (miR132-ASO-TDNs). Our data clearly revealed that miR132-ASO-TDNs exposure can promote the differentiation of ESCs into DAergic neurons as well as elevate DA release from differentiated DAergic neurons. MiR132-ASO-TDNs could serve as a novel biofunctional nanomaterial to improve the efficiency of DAergic neurons differentiation. Our findings may also provide a new approach for stem cell therapy against neurodegenerative diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number102375
JournalNanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine
Volume34
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Differentiation
  • Dopaminergic neurons
  • Embryonic stem cells
  • Functionalized DNA nanostructures
  • MicroRNA132

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • General Materials Science
  • Pharmaceutical Science

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