An Oligodeoxynucleotide from Lactic Acid Bacteria Promotes the Differentiation of Endothelial Cells from Induced...

Bacterial genome-derived oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are recognized as pathogen-associated molecular patterns by Toll-like receptors. They induce inflammatory responses by activating the innate immune response. Recently, ODNs reported to regulate stem cell differentiation have garnered attention owing to the discovery of new functions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of a myogenic ODN (iSN04), derived from the Lactobacillus genome sequence and reported to enhance myoblast differentiation, on the differentiation of vascular endothelial cells and other mesodermal lineages derived from the human induced pluripotent stem cell lines iMR90-4 and 201B7. The addition of iSN04 to the differentiation induction medium increased the proportion of CD31⁺CD144⁺ endothelial cells in the cell population. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR showed that the addition of iSN04 increased the gene expression of vascular endothelial cell markers such as von Willebrand factor. Analysis of cells on Day 3 after the addition of iSN04 revealed an increase in the expression of Brachyury-T, a marker of the mesoderm. These results suggest that iSN04 may improve the differentiation efficiency of cells, such as vascular endothelial cells, into other mesodermal cells by promoting mesoderm differentiation.