miR-124 participates in the proliferation and differentiation of brain glioma stem cells through regulating Nogo/NgR expression

The effect of miR-124 on the proliferation and differentiation of brain glioma stem cells and Nogo/NgR signaling pathway were investigated. miR-124 mimic, miR-124 inhibitor and miR-control expression vector were designed and produced to transfect U87 glioma stem cells. The results of transfection were tested via RT-qPCR and the expression of protein was detected by western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT proliferation and the proportion of CD133(+) cells was detected by immunomagnetic beads to determine cell differentiation. The correlation between miR-124 and Nogo-A, and NgR protein expression was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. The relative expression of miR-124 in cells of miR-124 mimic group was significantly higher than that of miR-124 inhibitor and miR-control groups (P<0.05). The relative expression of Nogo-A and NgR protein in cells of the miR-124 mimic group was significantly lower than that of miR-124 inhibitor and miR-control groups (P<0.05). Absorbance values of the cells in the miR-124 mimic and miR-control groups were significantly lower than those in the miR-124 inhibitor group at each time point (P<0.05), while the values of the cells in the miR-124 mimic group were significantly lower than that in miR-control group (P<0.05). The level of CD133(+) cells in miR-124 mimic group was significantly lower than that in miR-124 inhibitor and miR-control groups (P<0.05), while the level of CD133(+) cells in miR-124 inhibitor group was higher than that in miR-control group (P<0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that there was a negative correlation between miR-124 and the expression of Nogo-A and NgR protein (P<0.05). miR-124 may participate in the differentiation of brain glioma stem cells through the Nogo/NgR pathway, which may bring a new direction for the clinical treatment of brain glioma.