title: Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into neuronal cells on fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix as a tissue engineered nerve scaffold.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix as a scaffold for supporting the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neural cells following induction with neural differentiation medium. We performed long-term, continuous observation of cell morphology, growth, differentiation, and neuronal development using several microscopy techniques in conjunction with immunohistochemistry. We examined specific neuronal proteins and Nissl bodies involved in the differentiation process in order to determine the neuronal differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. The results show that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells that differentiate on fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix display neuronal morphology with unipolar and bi/multipolar neurite elongations that express neuronal-specific proteins, including βIII tubulin. The bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells grown on fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix and induced for long periods of time with neural differentiation medium differentiated into a multilayered neural network-like structure with long nerve fibers that was composed of several parallel microfibers and neuronal cells, forming a complete neural circuit with dendrite-dendrite to axon-dendrite to dendrite-axon synapses. In addition, growth cones with filopodia were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Paraffin sectioning showed differentiated bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells with the typical features of neuronal phenotype, such as a large, round nucleus and a cytoplasm full of Nissl bodies. The data suggest that the biological scaffold fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix is capable of supporting human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into functional neurons and the subsequent formation of tissue engineered nerve.
authors.affiliation: Animal Medicine College of Gansu Agriculture University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China ; Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Systems Biology, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Shixin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.affiliation: Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Mingsheng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Qiongyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Gansu Provincial Animal Cell Engineering Center; Key Laboratory of Bioengineering & Technology of State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Life Science and Engineering College of Northwest University for Nationalities, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zongren
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Animal Medicine College of Gansu Agriculture University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.
authors.forename: Sijiu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: acellular dermal matrix; biological scaffold; bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; fetal bovine; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuronal differentiation; neurons; peripheral nerve defects; tissue engineered nerve