miR-103-3p targets Ndel1 to regulate neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation

The regulation of adult neural stem cells(NSCs) is critical for lifelong neurogenesis. MicroRNAs(miRNAs) are a type of small, endogenous RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and influence signaling networks responsible for several cellular processes. In this study, mi R-103-3 p was transfected into neural stem cells derived from embryonic hippocampal neural stem cells. The results showed that mi R-103-3 p suppressed neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and promoted apoptosis. In addition, mi R-103-3 p negatively regulated Nud E neurodevelopment protein 1-like 1(Ndel1) expression by binding to the 3′ untranslated region of Ndel1. Transduction of neural stem cells with a lentiviral vector overexpressing Ndel1 significantly increased cell proliferation and differentiation, decreased neural stem cell apoptosis, and decreased protein expression levels of Wnt3 a, β-catenin, phosphor-GSK-3β, LEF1, c-myc, c-Jun, and cyclin D1, all members of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. These findings suggest that Ndel1 is a novel mi R-103-3 p target and that mi R-103-3 p acts by suppressing neural stem cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis and differentiation. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Nantong University, China(approval No. 20200826-003) on August 26, 2020.