Involvement of P1 purinergic receptors in embryonic stem cells self-renewal and proliferation

• Grant number: 12/05333-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2012
• End date: April 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Alexander Henning Ulrich
• Grantee: Renata Pereira Beco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent (capable of generating more than 200 cell types), and derived from the inner cell mass of the pre-implanted embryo. In addition to their pluripotency, they have a high proliferation and self-renewal capacity. The mechanisms that regulate pluripotency, proliferation, and self-renewal are still not elucidated. Although recent studies indicate that purinergic receptors are involved in these processes. This receptor family is divided into P1 receptors (adenosine receptors) and P2 receptors (nucleotide receptors) and are involved in numerous cellular functions such as secretion, neurotransmission, neuromodulation, cell proliferation, differentiation, motility, and death. Some studies showed that purinergic receptors are involved in embryonic and stem cell development; however, there aren't many studies explaining and specifying the involvement of P1 receptors in these processes. Due to a lack of knowledge on this subject, this project aims to study the action of these receptors in the proliferation and self-renewal of E14 tg2A embryonic stem cell lineage. (AU)