RT Journal Article T1 Dnmt3b knock-down in enteric precursors reveals a possible mechanism by which this de novo methyltransferase is involved in the enteric nervous system development and the onset of Hirschsprung disease A1 Torroglosa, Ana A1 Villalba-Benito, Leticia A1 Maria Fernandez, Raquel A1 Jose Moya-Jimenez, Maria A1 AntiƱolo, Guillermo A1 Borrego, Salud K1 Hirschsprung disease K1 DNMT3b K1 ENS development K1 P53 K1 P21 K1 Neural crest development K1 Embryonic stem-cells K1 Dna methyltransferases K1 Ret protooncogene K1 Cancer-cells K1 P53 K1 Apoptosis K1 Differentiation K1 Methylation K1 Expression AB Hirschsprung disease (HSCR, OMIM 142623) is a pathology that shows a lack of enteric ganglia along of the distal gastrointestinal tract. This aganglionosis is attributed to an abnormal proliferation, migration, differentiation and/or survival of enteric precursor cells (EPCs) derived from neural crest cells (NCCs) during the enteric nervous system (ENS) embryogenesis. DNMT3b de novo methyltransferase is associated with NCCs development and has been shown to be implicated in ENS formation as well as in HSCR. In this study we have aimed to elucidate the specific mechanism underlying the DNMT3b role in such processes. We have performed the knockdown of Dnmt3b expression (Dnmt3b-KD) in enteric precursor cells (EPCs) to clarify its role on these cells in vitro. Moreover, we have analyzed several signaling pathways to determine the mechanisms responsible for the effect caused by Dnmt3b-KD in EPCs. Our results seem to support that Dnmt3b-KD promotes an increase EPCs proliferation that may be mediated by P53 and P21 activity, since both proteins were observed to be down-regulated in our Dnmt3b-KD cultures. Moreover, we observed a down-regulation of P53 and P21 in HSCR patients. These results lead us to propose that DNMT3b could be involved in HSCR through P53 and P21 activity. PB Impact journals llc YR 2017 FD 2017-12-05 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/19448 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/19448 LA en DS RISalud RD Apr 7, 2025