Effects of Vitamin A and D on DNA Methyltransferases 3A and 3B Expression and Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

Background: In Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as the demyelination happens, Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells (OPCs) migrate to the site of injury and start differentiating into mature oligodendrocytes to regenerate the myelin sheaths. This OPC differentiation process can be affected by the epigenetic mechanisms which are mediated by a family of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) such as DNMT3A and DNMT3B. However, Dietary factors can alter the DNMTs expressions and even their activities. Therefore, in this study the effect of dietary factors such as vitamin A and D on the expression of DNMT3A and DNMT3B genes was assessed during these cells. Methods: Rat embryonic stem cells were derived from ganglionic eminence. Then, the stem cells were cultured, differentiated and divided into five groups: control negative, control positive and three treatment modalities consist of vitamin D3, vitamin A, and vitamin A+D. Lastly, the Real-time PCR assay was conducted with total RNA. Results: The expression of DNMT3B gene was significantly different between the groups, especially in the groups treated with vitamin A. Conclusion: It seems that vitamin A can affect the expression of DNMT3B which plays a major role in cell differentiation and can be considered as a novel target for treatment of MS disease.