KLF2 Promotes the Stemness of hMSCs by Regulating FGFR3

Objectives: KLF2 is a transcription factor related to the proliferation and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and plays an important role in maintaining the self-renewal of ESCs. Recently, the expression of KLF2 has been reported in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but the role of KLF2 in MSCs remains unclear. This study explored the role of KLF2 in the maintenance and regulation of MSCs' stemness, and laid a foundation for the transformation of MSCs in tissue engineering and clinical application.
Methods: KLF2 transcription factor was knocked down in MSCs by siRNA transfection. The role of KLF2 transcription factor in the maintenance of MSCs' stemness was confirmed by CCK-8 experiment, clone formation experiment, q-PCR and three-way induction differentiation experiment.
Then the target gene combined with KLF2 transcription factor was screened by chip-sequence. The target gene was knocked down in MSCs to detect the effects of cloning and multidirectional differentiation of MSCs, and to verify the role of target gene in the maintenance of stemnessof MSCs.
Results: Chip-sequence suggests that FGFR3 is the downstream target gene of KLF2. When KLF2 was knocked down, the expression of fibroblast growth factor R3 decreased, and the cloning ability, dry-related gene expression and three-way induction differentiation ability of MSCs decreased significantly. Simply knocking down fibroblast growth factor R3 also significantly reduced the ability of MSCs to maintain stemness.
Conclusions: KLF2 promotes the maintenance of MSCs by regulating the expression of FGFR3