Isolation and Characterization of Human Chorionic Membranes Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Neural Differentiation

Human Nasal Inferior Turbinate-Derived Neural Stem Cells Improve the Niche of Substantia Nigra Par Compacta in a Parkinson's Disease Model by Modulating Hippo Signaling

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, following Alzheimer's disease. The onset of PD is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Stem cell therapy has great potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and human nasal turbinate-derived stem cells (hNTSCs) have been found to share some characteristics with mesenchymal stem cells. Although the Hippo signaling pathway was originally thought to regulate cell size in organs, recent studies have shown that it can also control inflammation in neural cells.

METHODS

Dopaminergic neuron-like cells were differentiated from SH-SY5Y cells (DA-Like cells) and treated with 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium iodide to stimulate Reactive oxidative species (ROS) production. A transwell assay was conducted to validate the effect of hNTSCs on the Hippo pathway. We generated an MPTP-induced PD mouse model and transplanted hNTSCs into the substantia nigra of PD mice via stereotaxic surgery. After five weeks of behavioral testing, the brain samples were validated by immunoblotting and immunostaining to confirm the niche control of hNTSCs.

RESULTS

In-vitro experiments showed that hNTSCs significantly increased cell survival and exerted anti-inflammatory effects by controlling ROS-mediated ER stress and hippocampal signaling pathway factors. Similarly, the in-vivo experiments demonstrated an increase in anti-inflammatory effects and cell survival rate. After transplantation of hNTSCs, the PD mouse model showed improved mobility and relief from PD symptoms.

CONCLUSION

hNTSCs improved the survival rate of dopaminergic neurons by manipulating the hippocampal pathway through Yes-associated protein (YAP)/transcriptional coactivator with a PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) by reducing inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we found that controlling the niche of hNTSCs had a therapeutic effect on PD lesions.

Autophagy Promoted Neural Differentiation of Human Placenta-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND/AIM

Human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hPMSCs) are multipotent and possess neurogenicity. Numerous studies have shown that Notch inhibition and DNA demethylation promote neural differentiation. Here, we investigated the modulation of autophagy during neural differentiation of hPMSCs, induced by DAPT and 5-Azacytidine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

hPMSCs were treated with DAPT to induce neural differentiation, and the autophagy regulating molecules were used to assess the impact of autophagy on neural differentiation.

RESULTS

The hPMSCs presented with typical mesenchymal stem cell phenotypes, in which the majority of cells expressed CD73, CD90 and CD105. hPMSCs were multipotent, capable of differentiating into mesodermal cells. After treatment with DAPT, hPMSCs upregulated the expression of neuronal genes including SOX2, Nestin, and βIII-tubulin, and the autophagy genes LC3I/II and Beclin. These genes were further increased when 5-Azacytidine was co-supplemented in the culture medium. The inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine impeded the neural differentiation of hPMSCs, marked by the downregulation of βIII-tubulin, while the activation of autophagy by valproic acid (VPA) instigated the emergence of βIII-tubulin-positive cells.

CONCLUSION

During the differentiation process, autophagy was modulated, implying that autophagy could play a significant role during the differentiation of these cells. The blockage and stimulation of autophagy could either hinder or induce the formation of neural-like cells, respectively. Therefore, the refinement of autophagic activity at an appropriate level might improve the efficiency of stem cell differentiation.

Comparison of osteogenic differentiation capacity in mesenchymal stem cells derived from human amniotic membrane (AM), umbilical cord (UC), chorionic membrane (CM), and decidua (DC)

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively explored as a promising therapeutic agent in the field of bone tissue engineering due to their osteogenic differentiation ability. In this study, the osteogenic differential ability and the effect of fibronectin and laminin on the osteogenic differentiation in four types of MSCs derived from placental tissue are compared to determine the ideal source for bone reconstruction tissue engineering.

RESULTS

The present study examines the osteogenic differentiation levels of four types of MSCs using alizarin red staining and quantifies the calcium levels and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. In addition, this study examines the osteoblast differentiation protein markers osterix, collagen I, osteopontin, and osteocalcin using a Western blot assay. qPCR and EdU labeling assays were employed to identify the kinetics of osteogenic differentiation. Calcium deposit levels, ALP activity, and osteopontin and osteocalcin concentrations were determined to confirm the role of Extracellular matrix (ECM) components role on the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. The data demonstrated that MSCs isolated from different layers of placenta had different potentials to differentiate into osteogenic cells. Importantly, AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs differentiated into the osteoblast stage more efficiently and quickly than CM-MSCs and DC-MSCs, which was associated with a decrease in their proliferation ability. Among the different types of MSCs, AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs had a higher osteogenic differentiation potential induced by fibronectin due to enhanced phosphorylation during the Akt and ERK pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these results indicate that AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs possess a higher osteogenic potential, and fibronectin can robustly enhance the osteogenic potential of the Akt and ERK pathways.

Three-Dimensional Spheroid Culture Increases Exosome Secretion from Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND

Mass production of exosomes is a prerequisite for their commercial utilization. This study investigated whether three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could improve the production efficiency of exosomes and if so, what was the mechanism involved.

METHODS

We adopted two models of 3D spheroid culture using the hanging-drop (3D-HD) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly-HEMA) coating methods (3D-PH). The efficiency of exosome production from MSCs in the 3D spheroids was compared with that of monolayer culture in various conditions. We then investigated the mechanism of the 3D spheroid culture-induced increase in exosome production.

RESULTS

The 3D-HD formed a single larger spheroid, while the 3D-PH formed multiple smaller ones. However, MSCs cultured on both types of spheroids produced significantly more exosomes than those cultured in conventional monolayer culture (2D). We then investigated the cause of the increased exosome production in terms of hypoxia within the 3D spheroids, high cell density, and non-adherent cell morphology. With increasing spheroid size, the efficiency of exosome production was the largest with the least amount of cells in both 3D-HD and 3D-PH. An increase in cell density in 2D culture (2D-H) was less efficient in exosome production than the conventional, lower cell density, 2D culture. Finally, when cells were plated at normal density on the poly-HEMA coated spheroids (3D-N-PH); they formed small aggregates of less than 10 cells and still produced more exosomes than those in the 2D culture when plated at the same density. We also found that the expression of F-actin was markedly reduced in the 3D-N-PH culture.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested that 3D spheroid culture produces more exosomes than 2D culture and the non-adherent round cell morphology itself might be a causative factor. The result of the present study could provide useful information to develop an optimal process for the mass production of exosomes.

The directional migration and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells toward vascular endothelial cells stimulated by biphasic calcium phosphate ceramic

Osteoinductivity of porous calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics has been widely investigated and confirmed, and it might be attributed to the rapid formation of the vascular networks after in vivo implantation of the ceramics. In this study, to explore the vascularization mechanism within the CaP ceramics, the migration and differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) under the stimulation of porous biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramic with excellent osteoinductivity were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the directional migration of BMSCs toward BCP ceramic occurred when evaluated by using a transwell model, and the BMSCs migration was enhanced by the seeded macrophages on the ceramic in advance. Besides, by directly culturing BMSCs on BCP ceramic discs under both in vitro and in vivo physiological environment, it was found that the differentiation of BMSCs toward vascular endothelial cells (VECs) happened under the stimulation of BCP ceramic, as was confirmed by the up-regulated gene expressions and protein secretions of VECs-related characteristic factors, including kinase insert domain receptor, von willebrand factor, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and cadherin 5 in the BMSCs. This study offered a possibility for explaining the origin of VECs during the rapid vascularization process after in vivo implantation of porous CaP ceramics and could give some useful guidance to reveal the vascularization mechanism of the ceramics.