title: All-trans retinoic acid promotes nerve cell differentiation of yolk sac-derived mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Fetal membranes are abundant; the yolk sac is a source of cell lineages that do not express MHCs and are mainly free from immunological incompatibles when transferred to a recipient. Although data are available especially for hematopoietic stem cells in human and murine; whereas other cell types and species are dramatically unnoticed. Here, we studied the nature and differentiation potential of yolk sac-derived mesenchymal stem cells from a chicken embryo. In this study, we observed the gene expression of pluripotent markers in yolk sac mesenchymal stem cells (YS-MSCs) and the capacity of YS-MSCs to differentiate into neural-like cells using quantitative RT-PCR, immunocytochemistry, and western blotting. YS-MSCs have a spindle shape and revealed the expression of the MSC-related proteins β-integrin, CD44, CD71, and CD73, but not CD34. YS-MSCs express pluripotent markers such as octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4) and Nanog at the protein and mRNA levels. QRT-PCR analyses revealed that YS-MSCs expressed nestin. Immunocytochemical and western blotting data showed that the cells expressed Nestin and microtubule-associated protein 2 (Map-2) for neurons, respectively, after induction of neural differentiation. These findings demonstrate the plasticity of YS-MSCs and their potential for use in cellular replacement therapy for neural diseases.
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
authors.forename: Yuhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Chunyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Kunfu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Weijun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D017931:DNA Primers; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015017:Yolk Sac / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D014212:Tretinoin