Non-coding RNAs and DNA methylation synergistically regulate neural fate determination from rhesus monkey embryonic stem cell. Macaca mulatta

Rosette neural stem cells (R-NSCs) represent early stage of neural development and possess full neural differentiation and regionalization capacities. R-NSCs are considered as stem cells of neural lineage and have important implications in study of neurogenesis and cell replacement therapy. However, the molecules regulating their functional properties remain largely unknown. Rhesus monkey is ideal model to study human neural degenerative diseases and plays intermediate translational roles as therapeutic strategies evolve from rodent systems to human clinical applications. In this study, we describe the interactions of DNA methylation, mRNA and ncRNAs (miRNA and lncRNAs) during neural differention from ESCs. We show that DNA methylation, mRNAs and ncRNAs may together act as genetic switches or fine-tuners to ensure nerural fate determination upon proper stimuli. Overall design: Whole genome MeDIP-seq and lncRNA-seq of rhesus monkey