title: Ectoderm mesenchymal stem cells promote differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells.
abstract: Many neurological diseases are closely associated with demyelination caused by pathological changes of oligodendrocytes. Although intrinsic remyelination occurs after injury, the regeneration efficiency of myelinating oligodendrocytes remains to be improved. Herein, we reported an initiative finding of employing a valuable cell source, namely neural crest-derived ectoderm mesenchymal stem cells (EMSCs), for promoting oligodendrocyte differentiation and maturation by co-culturing oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) with the EMSCs. The results demonstrated that the OPCs/EMSCs co-culture could remarkably increase the number and length of oligodendrocyte processes in comparison with the mono-cultured OPCs and non-contact OPCs/EMSCs transwell culture. Furthermore, the inhibition experiments revealed that the EMSCs-produced soluble factor Sonic hedgehog, gap junction protein connexin 43 and extracellular matrix molecule laminin accounted for the promoted OPC differentiation since inhibiting the function of anyone of the three proteins led to substantial retraction of processes and detachment of oligodendrocytes. Altogether, OPCs/EMSCs co-culture system could be a paradigmatic approach for promoting differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocytes, and EMSCs will be a promising cell source for the treatment of neurological diseases caused by oligodendrocyte death and demyelination.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhengnan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Myron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spector
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiangnan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Center for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, PR China. Electronic address: xmxu@ujs.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ximing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
keywords: Co-culture; Connexin 43; Ectoderm mesenchymal stem cell; Oligodendrocyte differentiation; Oligodendrocyte precursor cell; Sonic hedgehog