TRPC3 is required for the survival, pluripotency and neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs)
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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Differentiation and Characterization of Neural Progenitors and Neurons from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: May 15, 2020
Helen Baixia Hao1, Sarah E Webb1, Jianbo Yue2
1Division of Life Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, HKUST, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract:
Transient receptor potential canonical subfamily member 3 (TRPC3) is known to be important for neural development and the formation of neuronal networks. Here, we investigated the role of TRPC3 in undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and during the differentiation of mESCs into neurons. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout (KO) of TRPC3 induced apoptosis and the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential both in undifferentiated mESCs and in those undergoing neural differentiation. In addition, TRPC3 KO impaired the pluripotency of mESCs. TRPC3 KO also dramatically repressed the neural differentiation of mESCs by inhibiting the expression of markers for neural progenitors, neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Taken together, our new data demonstrate an important function of TRPC3 with regards to the survival, pluripotency and neural differentiation of mESCs.
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