鹿茸干细胞p21基因表达水平及其对细胞周期的影响

Expression Level and Effects of p21 Gene on Cell Cycle in Antler Stem Cells

为初步探讨p21基因在基于鹿茸干细胞的鹿茸再生过程中所起的生物学作用,本研究利用qRT-PCR以及流式细胞术,以鹿脸部骨膜细胞(FPCs)为对照组,对鹿茸干细胞的生茸区骨膜细胞(APCs)和角柄骨膜细胞(PPCs)中p21基因mRNA表达水平和细胞周期分布进行了检测。进一步通过RNAi干扰技术,抑制APCs中p21基因表达水平,验证其对细胞周期分布的影响。结果表明,鹿茸干细胞中p21基因mRNA表达水平显著高于对照组细胞(APCs>PPCs>FPCs,P<0.05);相对于对照组细胞,鹿茸干细胞周期分布没有显著差异;低表达p21基因的APCs细胞周期无显著变化,说明p21基因表达水平的变化对鹿茸干细胞周期无直接影响。本研究为深入揭示该基因在鹿茸干细胞中高表达所起的生物学作用奠定了基础。

We aimed to investigate the role of p21 gene in antler regeneration.The distribution of cell cycle and expression level of p21 mRNA in the antler stem cells(including APCs and PPCs)and the control cells(FPCs)were compared by qRT-PCR and flow cytometry.Then,cell cycle in APCs was analyzed after down-regulating of p21 gene in the cells using RNAi,confirming effects on cell cycle distribution of p21 gene.The results showed that the expression level of p21 mRNA in APCs was the highest,followed by that in PPCs and FPCs(P<0.05);Compared to the control cells,the difference was not statistically significant.Cell cycles of APCs were not affected by the significant down-regulation of p21 gene expression,suggesting that the change of p21 gene expression level cannot affect cell cycle distribution of APCs directly.This study laid a foundation for revealing the biological function of high expression level of p21 gene in antler stem cells.