MiR-223 regulates the differentiation of immature neurons

BACKGROUND: Small non-coding microRNA RNA molecules can regulate stem cell function. The role of microRNAs in neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) differentiation is not entirely clear. METHODS: MiRNA profiling, loss and gain of function studies coupled with dendritic tree development morphometric analysis and calcium influx imaging were utilized to investigate the role of micoRNA-223 in differentiating NS/PCs. RESULTS: MiRNA profiling in human NS/PCs before and after differentiation in vitro reveals modulation of miRNAs following differentiation of NS/PCs. MiR-223, a microRNA well characterized as a hematopoietic-specific miRNA was identified. Cell-autonomous inhibition of miR-223 in the adult mouse dentate gyrus NS/PCs led to a significant increase in immature neurons soma size, dendritic tree total length, branch number per neuron and complexity, while neuronal migration in the dentate gyrus remained unaffected. Overexpression of miR-223 decreased dendritic tree total length, branch number and complexity in neurons differentiated from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Inhibition of miR-223 enhanced N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) induced calcium influx in human neurons differentiated from NS/PCs. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these findings indicate that miR-223 regulates the differentiation of neurons derived from NS/PCs. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2052-8426-2-18) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.