Differentiation of Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells into neurons in alginate scaffold.
Alginate scaffold has been considered as an appropriate biomaterial for promoting the differentiation of embryonic stem cells toward neuronal cell lineage. We hypothesized that alginate scaffold is suitable for culturing Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) and can promote the differentiation of WJMSCs into neuron-like cells. In this study, we cultured WJMSCs in a three-dimensional scaffold fabricated by 0.25% alginate and 50 mM CaCl2 in the presence of neurogenic medium containing 10 μM retinoic acid and 20 ng/mL basic fibroblast growth factor. These cells were also cultured in conventional two-dimensional culture condition in the presence of neurogenic medium as controls. After 10 days, immunofluorescence staining was performed for detecting β-tubulin (marker for WJMSCs-differentiated neuron) and CD271 (motor neuron marker). β-Tubulin and CD271 expression levels were significantly greater in the WJMSCs cultured in the three-dimensional alginate scaffold than in the conventional two-dimensional culture condition. These findings suggest that three-dimensional alginate scaffold cell culture system can induce neuronal differentiation of WJMSCs effectively.
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Cell and Molecular Medicine Student Research Group, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Stem Cell Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Seyed Mojtaba
SM
Hosseini
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Cell and Molecular Medicine Student Research Group, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Attiyeh
A
Vasaghi
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Cell and Molecular Medicine Student Research Group, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Newsha
N
Nakhlparvar
Colorectal Research Center, Department of Surgery, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran.
Reza
R
Roshanravan
Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Medical Science and Technology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, Department of Anatomy, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Tahereh
T
Talaei-Khozani
Cell and Molecular Medicine Student Research Group, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran ; Department of Medical Physics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Zahra
Z
Razi
3D scaffold; Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells; alginate; mesenchymal stem cells; motor neurons; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neurons