title: Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into smooth muscle cells in adherent monolayer culture.
abstract: Smooth muscle cell (SMC) plays critical roles in many human diseases, an in vitro system that recapitulates human SMC differentiation would be invaluable for exploring molecular mechanisms leading to the human diseases. We report a directed and highly efficient SMC differentiation system by treating the monolayer-cultivated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) with all-trans retinoid acid (atRA). When the hESCs were cultivated in differentiation medium containing 10microM RA, more than 93% of the cells expressed SMC-marker genes along with the steadily accumulation of such SMC-specific proteins as SM alpha-actin and SM-MHC. The fully differentiated SMCs were stable in phenotype and capable of contraction. This inducible and highly efficient in vitro human SMC system could be an important resource to study the mechanisms of SMC phenotype determination in human.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 338, Yu-Hang-Tang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Huarong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Liangbiao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Licheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014212:Tretinoin