Differentiation of human hair follicle stem cells into endothelial cells induced by vascular endothelial and basic fibroblast growth factors

Abstract

Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) possess powerful expansion and multi‑differentiation potential, properties that place them at the forefront of the field of tissue engineering and stem cell‑based therapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the differentiation of human HFSCs (hHFSCs) into cells of an endothelial lineage. hHFSCs were expanded to the second passage in vitro and then induced by the addition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to the culture medium. The expression levels of endothelial cell (EC)‑related markers, including von Willebrand factor (vWF), vascular endothelial cadherin (VE)‑cadherin and cluster of differentiation (CD)31, were detected by immunofluorescence staining, flow cytometric analysis and reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction. The hHFSCs expressed vWF, VE‑cadherin and CD31 when exposed to a differentiation medium, similar to the markers expressed by the human umbilical vein ECs. More significantly, differentiated cells were also able to take up low‑density lipoprotein. The data of the present study demonstrated that an efficient strategy may be developed for differentiating hHFSCs into ECs by stimulation with VEGF and bFGF. Thus, hHFSCs represent a novel cell source for vascular tissue engineering and studies regarding the treatment of various forms of ischaemic vascular disease.

Effects of Hair Follicle Stem Cells on Partial-Thickness Burn Wound Healing and Tensile Strength

“…Nevertheless, some stained blood vessels in brown color were observed in the PBS group. Consistent with these finding, recent studies have confirmed that creation and development of new vessels during the early wound healing process enhanced [7,9,14] , possibly due to the presence of stem cells. These newly vessels could decrease the inflammation phase and provide the nutrients and oxygen for cell proliferation and tissue regeneration [7,9,14] .…”

“…Consistent with these finding, recent studies have confirmed that creation and development of new vessels during the early wound healing process enhanced [7,9,14] , possibly due to the presence of stem cells. These newly vessels could decrease the inflammation phase and provide the nutrients and oxygen for cell proliferation and tissue regeneration [7,9,14] . Angiogenesis activity of HFSCs and improved overall wound healing process have also been reported in Heidari et al [9] and Xu et al [14] studies.…”

“…It has been proven that well-effective angiogenesis and sufficient blood supply at the site of burn injury are two main factors affecting the burn healing process, and neovascularization is critical to preserve the regenerated granulation tissue. There is also a relationship between angiogenesis and expression of CD31 [15] , a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed on the surface of endothelial cells [14] . In this study, to evaluate the effects of HFSCs transplantation in angiogenesis, immunohistochemistry analysis was performed for the CD31 antibody.…”

“…According to the thermal burn method described in previous studies [2,13,14] , burn induction was performed by direct conduction burn model using a 65 W soldering iron with the tip and square tip 15 × 15 mm (iron plate) at optimized 150 °C temperature. The heated instrument was positioned vertically under its own weight (85 g) and held in contact with the skin for 10 seconds (Fig.…”

Advanced glycation end products induce glomerular endothelial cell hyperpermeability by upregulating matrix metalloproteinase activity

“…Occludin is one of the main components of TJs in the majority of tissues (30), while claudin-5 is only expressed in GEnCs in the kidney (31). The two proteins are critical in maintaining the endothelial barrier (32)(33)(34); therefore, the expression of occludin and claudin-5 was examined following exposure to AGEs in the presence or absence of BiPS. Immunoblotting analysis suggested that AGEs reduced the total cellular content of occludin and claudin-5, likely due to protein degradation, while expression levels in the cultures co-treated with AGEs and the MMP-2/9 inhibitor BiPS were not different from those in the untreated control cultures, again indicating that AGEs reduced the expression of occludin and claudin-5 by increasing MMP-2/9-mediated proteolysis.…”