title: Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into retinal progenitor cells.
abstract: Human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from fetal umbilical cord. Cells were cultured in serum-free neural stem cell-conditioned medium or neural stem cell-conditioned medium supplemented with Dkk-1, a Wnt/β catenin pathway antagonist, and LeftyA, a Nodal signaling pathway antagonist to induce differentiation into retinal progenitor cells. Inverted microscopy showed that after induction, the spindle-shaped or fibroblast-like Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells changed into bulbous cells with numerous processes. Immunofluorescent cytochemical ing and reverse-transcription PCR showed positive expression of retinal progenitor cell markers, Pax6 and Rx, as well as weakly down-regulated nestin expression. These results demonstrate that Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells are capable of differentiating into retinal progenitor cells in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 200120, Heilongjiang Province, China ; Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai 200120, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang 157011, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai 200120, China.
authors.forename: Hongping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 200120, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Xinmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, Shanghai 200120, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.affiliation: Department of Head-Neck and Breast Tumor, Mudanjiang Tumor Hospital, Mudanjiang 157009, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 200120, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
keywords: Wharton's jelly; grants-supported paper; mesenchymal stem cells; microenvironment induction; nerve cells; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; reagent induction; retinal disease; retinal progenitor cells; stem cells