Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can differentiate into several cell types and are desirable candidates for cell therapy and tissue engineering. However, due to poor cell survival, proliferation and differentiation in the patient, the therapy outcomes have not been satisfactory. Although several studies have been done to understand the conditions that promote proliferation, differentiation and migration of MSC in vitro and in vivo, still there is no clear understanding on the effect of non-cellular bio molecules. Of the many factors that influence the cell behavior, the immediate cell microenvironment plays a major role. In this context, we studied the effect of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in controlling cell survival, proliferation, migration and directed MSC differentiation. We found that collagen promoted cell proliferation, cell survival under stress and promoted high cell adhesion to the cell culture surface. Increased osteogenic differentiation accompanied by high active RHOA (Ras homology gene family member A) levels was exhibited by MSC cultured on collagen. In conclusion, our study shows that collagen will be a suitable matrix for large scale production of MSC with high survival rate and to obtain high osteogenic differentiation for therapy.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been proposed as suitable candidates for cell therapy for neurological disorderssince they exhibit good neuronal differentiation capacity. However, for better therapeutic outcomes, it is necessary to isolate MSC from a suitable tissue sourcethat posses high neuronal differentiation. In this context, we isolated MSC from extra ocular muscle (EOM) tissue and tested the in vitro neuronal differentiation potential. In the current study, EOM tissue derived MSC were characterized and compared with bone marrow derived MSC. We found that EOM derived MSC proliferated as a monolayer and showed similarities in morphology, growth properties and cell surface marker expression with bone marrow derived MSC and expressed high levels of NES, OCT4, NANOG and SOX2 in its undifferentiated state. They also expressed embryonic cell surface marker SSEA4 and their intracellular mitochondrial distribution pattern was similar to that of multipotent stem cells. Although EOM derived MSC differentiated readily into adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes, they differentiated more efficiently into neuroectodermal cells. The differentiation into neuroectodermal cellswas confirmed by the expression of neuronal markers NGFR and MAP2B. Thus, EOM derived MSC might be good candidates for stem cell based therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted significant attention as potential therapeutic cells to treat various diseases ranging from tissue injuries, graft versus host disease, degenerative diseases and cancer. Since the initial discovery of MSCs in the bone marrow cells, MSCs have been successfully isolated from various adult and neo-natal tissues, albeit the procedures are often coupled with difficulties in harvesting tissue and produce low yield of cells, requiring extensive expansion in vitro. Here, we explored extra-ocular muscle tissues obtained from patients as a novel source of MSCs which express characteristic cell surface markers of MSCs and show multilineage differentiation potential with high proliferation capacity.
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