Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are involved in growth and tissue development, including diseases such as type-2 diabetes and cancers. However, their roles in lineage specification, especially in early mammalian neural development, are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the protein expression of IGF-2 in early mouse embryo, and it was preferentially detected in anterior mesodermal tissue, adjacent to the neural plate. We utilized a self-organizing neural tissue culture system and analyzed the direct effect of IGF-2 on the general neural marker Sox1. Interestingly, using recombinant IGF-2 and a chemical inhibitor of its receptor (IGF-1R), we found that the IGF-2/IGF-1R pathway positively regulated Sox1 expression in embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived neural tissue. Furthermore, to visualize the expression patterns of other neural markers, we used reporter ES cell lines and we found that the IGF-2/IGF-1R signaling upregulated the expression of the posterior neural marker Irx3. In contrast, the anterior neural marker Six3 was downregulated by IGF-2/IGF-1R signaling. Together, our results demonstrate that IGF-2/IGF-1R signaling has different effects on neural marker expression, which may influence the early regional identity of ES cell-derived neural tissues.
Keywords: Embryonic stem cell; IGF-2/IGF-1R signaling; Irx3; Neuroectoderm; Six3; Sox1.