MicroRNA-18a prevents senescence of mesenchymal stem cells by targeting CTDSPL

Stem cell therapy requires massive scale homogeneous stem cells under strictly qualification control. However, Prolonged ex vivo expansion impairs the biological functions and results in senescence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We investigated the function of CTDSPL in premature senescence process of MSCs and clarified that miR-18a-5p played a prominent role in preventing senescence of long-term cultured MSCs and promoting the self-renew ability of MSCs. Inhibition of miR-18a-5p promoted the expression of CTDSPL and induced premature senescence of MSCs. Continuous overexpression of miR-18a-5p improved self-renewal of MSCs by reduced ROS level, increased expression of Oct4 and Nanog, promoted growth rate and differentiation capability. We reported for the first time the dynamic interaction of miR-18a-5p and CTDSPL is crucial for stem cell senescence. To prepare for deep sequencing, four small RNA libraries (UCMSC-P4, UCMSC-P11, CBMSC-P4, CBMSC-P11) were constructed