title: Potential mechanisms underlying ectodermal differentiation of Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) are being increasingly recognized for their ectodermal differentiation potential. Previously, we demonstrated that when WJMSC were seeded onto an acellular matrix material derived from Wharton's jelly and cultured in osteogenic induction media, generated CK19 positive cells and hair-like structures indicative of ectodermal differentiation of WJMSCs. In this manuscript, we examine the underlying mechanism behind this observation using a variety of microscopy and molecular biology techniques such as western blotting and qPCR. We demonstrate that these hair-like structures are associated with live cells that are positive for epithelial and mesenchymal markers such as cytokeratin-19 and α-smooth muscle actin, respectively. We also show that up-regulation of β-catenin and noggin, along with the expression of TGF-β and SMAD and inhibition of BMP4 could be the mechanism behind this ectodermal differentiation and hair-like structure formation.
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States; Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States.
authors: Sushma
authors: S
authors: Jadalannagari
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States.
authors: Abigale M
authors: AM
authors: Berry
authors: Cardiac Regenerative Surgery Research Laboratories, Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics, Kansas City, MO, United States.
authors: Richard A
authors: RA
authors: Hopkins
authors: Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States.
authors: Dhaval
authors: D
authors: Bhavsar
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States; Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States. Electronic address: omar_aljitawi@urmc.Rochester.edu.
authors: Omar S
authors: OS
authors: Aljitawi
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D053539:Keratin-19 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D061251:Primary Cell Culture; D051785:Smad Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099176:Noggin Protein
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015415:Biomarkers; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D053539:Keratin-19; D051785:Smad Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D051176:beta Catenin; D000099176:Noggin Protein; C541116:ACTA2 protein, human; C525809:BMP4 protein, human; C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human
keywords: Beta-catenin; Decellularized Wharton's jelly matrix; Ectodermal differentiation; Hair-like structures; Osteogenic differentiation media; Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells