Analysis of neural potential of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) emerged as promising candidates for therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The ability of MSC to differentiate into multiple different cells of mesodermal origin has offered therapeutic tool for the treatment leukaemias and other malignant diseases. Recently, MSC have been shown to ameliorate a variety of neurological dysfunction. The critical question that remains unanswered is whether MSC can trans-differentiate into neural cells. In an attempt to clarify this issue we explored the expression profile of different markers by mesenchymal cells isolated from human umbilical cord Wharton jelly (HUC-MSC) and compare their expression with neural stem cell line derived from human umbilical cord blood (HUCB-NSC) established in our laboratory. Materials and methods: Gene expression pattern in HUC-MSC (hMSC Lonza medium) and HUCB-NSC (DMEM/F12 medium+2% FBS) was performed by RT-PCR and quantitative RT-PCR reactions. Total RNA was isolated from cultured cells and RT-PCR was performed by using gene-specific primers. The target gene value of each sample was normalized by the GAPDH value. Concomitantly immunocytochemical analysis of gene-related proteins was employed. Results: Direct comparison of the expression profiles demonstrated that HUC-MSC, in addition to pluripotent (Oct-4, Nanog) genes, spontaneously express neural genes: Nestin, NF-200, βIIITubulin, and GFAP. Concomitantly non-induced expression of neural proteins was found. The subsets of HUC-MSC were positive for several markers including: SSEA-4, Nestin, NF-200, βIIITubulin, GFAP and A2B5. Summary and conclusions: We have demonstrated that MSC derived from human umbilical cord Wharton jelly cultured in vitro acquire neural progenitor-like properties by expressing neuronal and astrocytic specific markers. Supported by MSHE grant No. N401 014235 and Foundation Jerome Lejeune grant as part of the Novus Sanguis research consortium.

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