Directed Neural Differentiation of Rabbit Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) are known to have the ability to differentiate into various lineages of mesenchymal tissue. They are widely distributed in a variety of tissues in the body and are also present in the foetal environment. In this study researchers have evaluated the possibility of MSC or cells with MSC-like potency being present in the Umbilical Cord (UC). To research the biological characteristics of rabbit Umbilical Cord Mesenymal Stem Cells (UCMSCs), the methods of immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR were used to detect the surface markers of UCMSCs. Growth curves were drawn in accordance with the cell numbers. To assess the differentiating capacity of UCMSCs, cells were induced to neural cells. These results suggested that the UCMSCs isolated from rabbit owned the similar biological characteristics with the cells separated from other species and the potential of differentiation of UCMSCs may represent an ideal candidate resource for cellular transplant therapy in tissue engineering.