The expression of peroxisomal protein transcripts increased by retinoic acid during neural differentiation

Peroxisomal matrix protein is mainly expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, and brain tissues. To study the expression of peroxisomal protein (PEP) during neurogenesis, we employed mouse embryonic carcinoma cells (P19) and embryonic stem cells (mESCs) as an in vitro model for neural differentiation by retinoic acid (RA) induction. Expression pattern of PEP was investigated under distinct steps of differentiation by RT-PCR and real-time PCR. The results revealed that expression of PEP transcripts was markedly increased after the RA treatment at embryoid body and neural stages. Therefore, we concluded that PEP might be involved in the early process of neurogenesis, which needs further verification. (C) 2010 International Society of Differentiation. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.