title: In vitro differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells to epithelial lineage.
abstract: Our study examined whether human bone marrow-derived MSCs are able to differentiate, in vitro, into functional epithelial-like cells. MSCs were isolated from the sternum of 8 patients with different hematological disorders. The surface phenotype of these cells was characterized.To induce epithelial differentiation, MSCs were cultured using Epidermal Growth Factor, Keratinocyte Growth Factor, Hepatocyte Growth Factor and Insulin-like growth Factor-II. Differentiated cells were further characterized both morphologically and functionally by their capacity to express markers with specificity for epithelial lineage. The expression of cytokeratin 19 was assessed by immunocytochemistry, and cytokeratin 18 was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR (Taq-man). The data demonstrate that human MSCs isolated from human bone marrow can differentiate into epithelial-like cells and may thus serve as a cell source for tissue engineering and cell therapy of epithelial tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Immunology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Victor Babes Timisoara, Romania. vpaunescu@umft.ro
authors.forename: Virgil
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Păunescu
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deak
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Ioana Raluca
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Siska
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tănasie
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bunu
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anghel
authors.forename: Calin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Tatu
authors.forename: Tudor I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Oprea
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Henschler
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rüster
authors.forename: Roxana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bistrian
authors.forename: Erhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seifried
mesh_terms: D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053538:Keratin-18