StemMACS™ DAPT is a small molecule inhibitor of gamma-secretase that prevents Notch signaling.
Background information
StemMACS™ DAPT is a cell-permeable dipeptide that inhibits the protease γ-secretase, a key component of the Notch signaling pathway. The Notch pathway is involved in various developmental cell fate and lineage decisions, making the small molecule inhibitor DAPT a valuable tool for the modulation of stem cell differentiation in cell culture. In addition, γ-secretase plays a role in processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to β-amyloid, a component of the senile plaques characteristic for Alzheimer’s disease. Inhibition of γ-secretase by DAPT has been shown to cause a dose-dependent reduction of β-amyloid levels in primary neuronal cultures as well as
in vivo
.
Applications
Published applications for DAPT include:
Differentiation of human PSCs into retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells1
Osakada, F. et al. (2009) Stepwise differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into retinal cells. Nat. Protoc. 4(6): 811-824
Elkabetz, Y. et al. (2008) Human ES cell-derived neural rosettes reveal a functionally distinct early neural stem cell stage. Genes Dev. 22(2): 152-165
D'Amour, K. A. et al. (2006) Production of pancreatic hormone-expressing endocrine cells from human embryonic stem cells. Nat. Biotechnol. 24: 1392-1401
Chambers, S.M. et al. (2012) Combined small-molecule inhibition accelerates developmental timing and converts human pluripotent stem cells into nociceptors. Nat. Biotechnol. 30(7): 715-720
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