MicroRNAs as Markers for Neurally Committed CD133+/CD34+ Stem Cells Derived from Human Umbilical Cord Blood Maryam Hafizi • Amir Atashi • Behnaz Bakhshandeh • Mahboubeh Kabiri • Samad Nadri • Reza Haji Hosseini • Masoud Soleimani Received: 16 December 2011 / Accepted: 20 July 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012 Abstract Neural differentiation of the CD133?/CD34? subpopulation of human umbilical cord blood stem cells was investigated, and neuro-miR (mir-9 and mir- 124) expression was examined. An efficient induction protocol for neural differ- entiation of hematopoietic stem cells together with the exclusion of retinoic acid in this process was also studied. Transcription of some neural markers such as microtubule-associated protein-2, beta-tubulin III, and neuron-specific enolase was evaluated by real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, and western blotting. Increased expression of neural indicators in the treated cells confirmed the appropriate neural differentiation, which supported the high efficiency of our defined neuronal induction protocol. Verified high expression of neuro-miRNAs along with neuronal specific proteins not only strengthens the regulatory role of miRNAs in determining stem cell fate but also introduces these miRNAs as novel indicators of neural differentiation. These data highlight the prominent therapeutic potential of hema- topoietic stem cells for use in cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases. M. Hafizi Á M. Kabiri Á S. Nadri Stem Cell Biology Department, Stem Cell Technology Research Center, Tehran, Iran M. Hafizi Á R. H. Hosseini Biology Department, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran A. Atashi Á M. Soleimani (&) Hematology Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 14115-111, Tehran, Iran e-mail: soleim_m@modares.ac.ir B. Bakhshandeh Á M. Kabiri Department of Biotechnology, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran S. Nadri Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 123 Biochem Genet DOI 10.1007/s10528-012-9553-x