MicroRNAs Regulation Modulated Self-Renewal and Lineage Differentiation of Stem Cells

Abstract

Stem cells are unique cells in the ability that can self-renew and differentiate into a wide variety of cell types, suggesting that a specific molecular control network underlies these features. To date, stem cells have been applied to many clinical therapeutic approaches. For example, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the cells responding to ischemia or injury and engage in effective revascularization to repair within impairment regions. Transplantation of MSCs after stroke and hindlimb ischemia results in remarkable recovery through enhancing angiogenesis. MicroRNAs are a novel class of endogenous, small, noncoding RNAs that work via translational inhibition or degradation of their target mRNAs to downregulate gene expression. MicroRNAs have been strongly linked to stem cells, which have a remarkable role in development. In this study, we focused on the microRNA regulation in multiple stem cells. For example, miR-520h was upregulated and miR-129 was downregulated in HSC. MiR-103, 107, 140, 143, 638, and 663 were associated with MSCs while miR-302s and miR-136 were associated with ESCs. In NSCs, miR-92b, let-7, and miR-125 were the critical regulators. This overview of the recent advances in the aspects of molecular control of stem cell biology reveals the importance of microRNAs, which may be helpful for future work.