title: Distal segment extracts of the degenerated rat sciatic nerve induce bone marrow stromal cells to express Schwann cell markers in vitro.
abstract: Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) have the ability to support nerve regeneration when transplanted into lesion sites, but the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesized that specific factors in the lesioned microenvironment induce the differentiation of transplanted MSCs into functional Schwann-like cells. To test this hypothesis and determine the origin of such factors, we investigated the effects of different extracts from degenerated rat sciatic nerves on MSCs in vitro. After 3 days of degeneration, extracts from the distal segment (Ds) and proximal segment (Ps) of the rat sciatic nerve were used in experiments. After 1 day of treatment, the morphology of MSCs cultured with Ds extracts were spindle shaped, and the cells interconnected with each other, followed by gradual loss of typical morphology during culture. After 7 days of treatment, western blotting and RT-PCR analyses indicated that the cells cultured with Ds extracts had significantly higher expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Sox10, Oct6, and early growth response 2(Egr2) than that of cells cultured with Ps extracts and the untreated cells. Our study suggests that, in the microenvironments of nerve lesions, specific factors induce MSCs to differentiate into functional Schwann-like cells, which may originate from the Ds of the degenerated nerve. These results may help to elucidate the mechanisms by which MSCs function in peripheral nerve repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Capital Medical University, Beijing, PR, China. whtel@163.com
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ningyu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers