Evaluation of of motor neuron differentiation potential of human umbilical cord blood- derived mesenchymal stem cells, in vitro

Many people suffer from spinal cord injuries annually. These deficits usually threaten the quality of life of patients. As a postpartum medically waste product, human Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) is a rich source of stem cells with self-renewal properties and neural differentiation capacity which made it useful in regenerative medicine. Since there is no report on potential of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells into motor neurons, we set out to evaluate the differentiation properties of these cells into motor neuron like cells through administration of Retinoic Acid(RA), Sonic Hedgehog(Shh) and BDNF using a three-step in vitro procedure. The results were evaluated using Real-time PCR, Flowcytometry and Immunocytochemistry for two weeks. Our data showed that the cells changed into bipolar morphology and could express markers related to motor neuron; including Hb-9, Pax-6, Islet-1, NF-H, ChAT at the level of mRNA and protein. We could also quantitatively evaluate the expression of Islet-1, ChAT and NF-H at 7 and 14 days post-induction using flowcytometry. It is concluded that human UCB-MSCs is potent to express motor neuron-related markers in the presence of RA, Shh and BDNF through a three-step protocol; thus it could be a suitable cell candidate for regeneration of motor neurons in spinal cord injuries. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.