Loss of non-coding RNA expression from the DLK1-DIO3 imprinted locus correlates with reduced neural differentiation potential in human embryonic stem cell lines

Pluripotent stem cells are increasingly used for therapeutic models, including transplantation of neural progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), including Maternally Expressed Gene 3 (MEG3) that is derived from DLK1-DIO3 imprinted locus, were found to be expressed during neural developmental events. Their deregulations are associated with various neurological diseases. The DLK1-DIO3 imprinted locus encodes abundant non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that are regulated by differential methylation on the locus. The aim of our research is to study the correlation between the DLK1-DIO3 derived ncRNAs and the capacity of hESC neural lineage differentiation. We classified hESCs into MEG3-ON and MEG3-OFF based on the expression levels of MEG3 as well as its downstream miRNAs by qRT-PCR. Initial embryoid body (EB) formation was conducted to examine the three germ layer differentiation ability. cDNA microarray was used to analyze the gene expression profiles of hESCs. Directed neural lineage differentiation was performed, followed by analysis of neural lineage marker expression levels and neurite formation via qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry methods to investigate the capacity of neural differentiation in MEG3-ON and MEG3-OFF hESCs

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Mo CF, Wu FC, Tai KY, Chang WC, Chang KW, Kuo HC, Ho HN, Chen HF, Lin SP