ABSTRACT
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital defect diseases caused by cell proliferation and apoptosis disorders. Using RNA-Seq assays, we found the increased expression of DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (Ddit4) in embryonic brain tissues from NTD fetuses. In this study, we intend to explore the effects of Ddit4 overexpression on the proliferation and apoptosis of HT-22 cells and related mechanisms to lay the foundation for the study of the role of Ddit4 in NTDs. According to the mouse Ddit4 sequence, we constructed the eukaryotic expression vector pEX-3-Ddit4. The results of restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing showed that the eukaryotic expression vector pEX-3-Ddit4 was successfully constructed. qRT-PCR and Western blotting results showed that the expression level of Ddit4 in HT-22 cells was significantly increased after transfection of PEX-3-Ddit4 (P < 0. 01) . CCK-8 and Western blotting results showed that Ddit4 overexpression decreased the proliferation of HT-22 cells (P < 0. 01) . Flow cytometry showed that Ddit4 overexpression increased the proportion of cells in the G