title: Mouse bone marrow stromal cells differentiate to neuron-like cells upon inhibition of BMP signaling.
abstract: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are a source of autologous stem cells that have the potential for undergoing differentiation into multiple cell types including neurons. Although the neuronal differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells has been studied for a long time, the molecular players involved are still not defined. Here we report that the genetic deletion of two members of the bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp) family, Bmp2 and Bmp4 in mouse BMSCs causes their differentiation into cells with neuron-like morphology. Surprisingly these cells expressed certain markers characteristic of both neuronal and glial cells. Based on this observation, we inhibited BMP signaling in mouse BMSCs through a brief exposure to Noggin protein which also led to their differentiation into cells expressing both neuronal and glial markers. Such cells seem to have the potential for further differentiation into subtypes of neuronal and glial cells and thus could be utilized for cell-based therapeutic applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Paritosh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prashar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Prem Swaroop
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address: jonaki@iitk.ac.in.
authors.forename: Jonaki
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D000099176:Noggin Protein
chemical_list: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000099176:Noggin Protein; C525719:Bmp2 protein, mouse; C525810:Bmp4 protein, mouse
keywords: BMP; Bone marrow stromal cells; Neuron-like cells; Noggin