Table 1.
Small molecules used in the studies reviewed and their relevance to stem cell biology.
| name of compound | target(s) | effect(s) | reference no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| (−) indolactam V | PKC | pancreatic differentiation of ESC-derived endoderm | [37] |
| (+) Bayk 8644 | L-type Ca2+ channel | enhances reprogramming of MEFs | [67] |
| 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 | EP receptor(s) | increases frequency of long-term HSCs; improved kidney regeneration | [49] |
| 6-bromoindirubin-3′-oxime (BIO) | GSK3 | self-renewal of mESCs and proliferation of Isl1+ cardiac precursors | [47,48] |
| A-83-01 | ALK4, ALK5 and ALK7 | rat iPSC self-renewal, in combination with CHIR99021 and PD0325901 | [83,89] |
| BCI-540 | Wnt pathway | neurogenesis in the hippocampus | [51] |
| BIX-01294 | G9a HMTase | reprogramming of NPCs and MEFs transduced with only Oct4 and Klf4 | [67,68] |
| cardiogenols (A–D) | unknown | efficient induction of cardiogenesis in mESCs | [44] |
| CHIRON99021 (CHIR) | GSK3 | activates canonical Wnt signalling, promotes mESC self-renewal | [24,70,83,87–89] |
| erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3- nonyl)adenine (EHNA) | phosphodiesterase (PDE2) | allows hESC maintenance in chemically defined media | [25] |
| forskolin | PKA | promotes neurogenesis along with retinoic acid | [84] |
| FT1050 | Wnt and prostaglandin E2 | improves HSC function and engraftment | [51] |
| IDE1/2 | unknown | Smad2 phosphorylation in ES cells; differentiation into endoderm | [37] |
| kenpaullone | GSK3 and CDKs | replaces Klf4 in the reprogramming of MEFs | [74] |
| neuropathiazol | unknown | induces neuronal differentiation of multi-potent adult hippocampal NPCs | [46] |
| parnate | lysine-specific demethylase I | reprogramming of human keratinocytes transduced with Oct4/Klf4 | [70] |
| PD0325901 | MEK | inhibits differentiation of mESCs | [24,29,75,83,87–89] |
| pluripotin (SC1) | RasGAP and ERK1 | promotes mESC self-renewal | [16,22] |
| purmorphamine | Hedgehog | induction of osteogenesis | [45] |
| RG108 | DNA MTase | facilitates reprogramming of MEFs | [66] |
| R-spondin 1 | Wnt pathway | stem cell proliferation in the intestinal crypt | [54] |
| SB203580 | p38-MAPK | used in conjunction with PD0325901 to maintain hESCs in an mESC-like signalling niche | [29] |
| SB431542 | ALK4, ALK5 and ALK7 | efficient neural differentiation of hES cells in combination with Noggin | [75] |
| stauprimide | NME2 | enhanced differentiation of ES cells | [36] |
| thiazovivin (Tzv) | ROCK | improved survival of hESCs upon dissociation | [26,75] |
| TWS119 | GSK3 | neurogenesis enhancer | [43] |
| pyrintegrin (Pyr) | unknown | improved survival of hESCs upon dissociation | [26] |
| valproic acid (VPA) | histone deacetylase | enables reprogramming of human fibroblasts transduced with only Oct4 and Sox2; globally acting factor | [66,69] |
| Y27632 | ROCK | improved survival of hESCs upon dissociation | [26,89] |