Integration of Significant Signaling Pathways Involved in Neural-fate Differentiation of Stem Cells

The ability of stem cells to develop into functional neurons has been rigorously studied in the past several years. In the way of the interpretation of how the crosstalk between signaling pathways orchestrates the differentiation of stem cells into neuronal fate, this study has been carried out. Here, five major tracks viz. cAMP, MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), and Retinoic acid signaling have been selected based on their significance in neuronal differentiation. These pathways were studied and integrated to find the common governing nodes by exploring the crosstalk mechanism between them to impact the researchers' approach toward neuronal differentiation. We report some crucial proteins/transcription factors that can be explicitly targeted while differentiating stem cells into neurons. This approach can reduce the experimental cost by eliminating the conventional hit and trial step in invitro protocols. This insilico research will assist in designing and standardizing the neuronal differentiation experiments more efficiently, and the knowledge can be implemented for the generation of functional neurons.