title: Effect of cell culture using chitosan membranes on stemness marker genes in mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is a promising treatment for diseases of the nervous system. However, MSCs often lose their stemness and homing abilities when cultured in conventional two‑dimensional (2D) systems. Consequently, it is important to explore novel culture methods for MSC-based therapies in clinical practice. To investigate the effect of a cell culture using chitosan membranes on MSCs, the morphology of MSCs cultured using chitosan membranes was observed and the expression of stemness marker genes was analyzed. We demonstrated that MSCs cultured using chitosan membranes form spheroids. Additionally, the expression of stemness marker genes, including Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog, increased significantly when MSCs were cultured using chitosan membranes compared with 2D culture systems. Finally, MSCs cultured using chitosan membranes were found to have an increased potential to differentiate into nerve cells and chrondrocytes. In conclusion, we demonstrated that MSCs cultured on chitosan membranes maintain their stemness and homing abilities. This finding may be further investigated for the development of novel cell-based therapies for diseases involving neuron-like cells and chondrogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Weihui, Henan 453100, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Zhixiu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C486780:NANOG protein, human; D000071317:Nanog Homeobox Protein; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494173:POU5F1 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C527782:SOX2 protein, human; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D048271:Chitosan