Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology at Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
2
Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3
Department of Hematology, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4
Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6
Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Human umbilical cord matrix (hUCM) is considered as a promising source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
due to several advantages over other tissues. The potential of neural differentiation of hUCM-MSCs is of great
interest in the context of treating neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, considerable efforts have been
made to establish in vitro conditions for improving the differentiation of hUCM-MSCs toward neuronal cells. In
the present study, we evaluated the neural differentiation potential of hUCM-MSCs in the presence of cAMP-
elevating agents forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). hUCM-MSCs were isolated from fetal
umbilical cord and characterized by flow cytometry analysis for mesenchymal specific markers. Mesodermal
differentiation potential was assessed through selective media with lineage-specific induction factors. For
assessment of neural differentiation, cells were cultured in the presence of cAMP-elevating agents for 8 and 24
h. The neuronal differentiated MSCs were characterized for neuronal specific markers by immunocytochemistry
and western blotting. Isolated hUCM-MSCs were found positive for mesenchymal markers (CD73, CD90, and
CD105) while negative for hematopoietic markers (CD34 and CD45). Following neural induction, most cells
represented neural-like cells morphology. Neural markers including β-tubulin III (Tuj-1), neuron-specific
enolase (NSE), microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) and nestin were expressed in treated cells with respect
to control group. The astrocyte specific marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was also shown by
immunofluorescence in treated cells. (These findings demonstrate that hUCM-MSCs have the ability to rapidly
differentiate into neural cell types of neuron-like cells and astrocytes by cAMP-elevating agents without the
presence of growth factors.
Keywords