title: Unique molecular signatures influencing the biological function and fate of post-natal stem cells isolated from different sources.
abstract: The discovery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from a myriad of tissues has triggered the initiative of establishing tailor-made stem cells for disease-specific therapy. Nevertheless, lack of understanding on the inherent differential propensities of these cells may restrict their clinical outcome. Therefore, a comprehensive study was done to compare the proliferation, differentiation, expression of cell surface markers and gene profiling of stem cells isolated from different sources, viz. bone marrow, Wharton's jelly, adipose tissue and dental pulp. We found that although all MSCs were phenotypically similar to each other, Wharton's jelly (WJ) MSCs and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were highly proliferative as compared to bone marrow (BM) MSCs and adipose tissue (AD) MSCs. Moreover, indistinguishable cell surface characteristics and differentiation capacity were confirmed to be similar among all cell types. Based on gene expression profiling, we postulate that BM-MSCs constitutively expressed genes related to inflammation and immunodulation, whereas genes implicated in tissue development were highly expressed in AD-MSCs. Furthermore, the transcriptome profiling of WJ-MSCs and DPSCs revealed an inherent bias towards the neuro-ectoderm lineage. Based on our findings, we believe that there is no unique master mesenchymal stem cell that is appropriate to treat all target diseases. More precisely, MSCs from different sources exhibit distinct and unique gene expression signatures that make them competent to give rise to specific lineages rather than others. Therefore, stem cells should be subjected to rigorous characterization and utmost vigilance needs to be adopted in order to choose the best cellular source for a particular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Noor Hayaty
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Abu Kasim
authors.affiliation: Hygieia Innovation Sdn. Bhd, Lot 1G-2G, Lanai Complex No.2, Persiaran Seri Perdana, Percint 10, Federal Territory of Putrajaya, Malaysia.|Department of Children's Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Vijayendran
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Govindasamy
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Dentistry Research Group (ReDReG), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nareshwaran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gnanasegaran
authors.affiliation: Department of Children's Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.|Regenerative Dentistry Research Group (ReDReG), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sabri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Musa
authors.affiliation: Oral Cancer Research and Coordinating Centre (OCRCC), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Padmaja Jayaprasad
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Pradeep
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Thekkeparambil Chandrabose
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Srijaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zeti Adura Che Ab
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Aziz
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D059467:Transcriptome; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*