Evaluation of ATG5 Gene Expression in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells During Endoderm Induction

 Autophagy is a vital cell survival mechanism that authorizes cells to assort to metabolic stress and is essential for the development and maintenance of cellular and tissue homeostasis, as well as the prevention of human disease. It has also been shown that autophagy plays a significant role in the development and differentiation of stem cells, as well as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

 The present study aimed to examine the mRNA expression of the ATG5 gene, one of the key markers of autophagy in human iPSCs (hiPSCs) during endoderm induction.

 In this study, we cultured the human iPSC line (R1-hiPSC1) on mitomycin-C, inactivated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) layer, and used hanging drop protocol to generate embryoid body (EB) and expose differentiation. The Real-time PCR method was used to examine the mRNA expression level of ATG5 in hiPSC during endoderm induction.

 Our results demonstrated the high mRNA expression of ATG5 in the mesendoderm induction (MEI) stage, which shows the high rate of autophagy in MEI days rather than the other stages of differentiation.

 The modification of ATG5 gene expression within hiPSC during endoderm induction shows the importance of autophagy assessments in hiPSC differentiation. Therefore, subsequent studies are needed to clarify the details of autophagy effects on hiPSC differentiation.