Neural differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells: Evidence for expression of neural markers and eag K+ channel types.

Objective: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can self-renew, proliferate, and exhibit elevated cellular plasticity. To investigate their possible neural fate, we studied human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in different cell culture conditions from morphological, immunochemical, gene expression, and physiological points of view.

Materials And Methods: We tested hMSCs in three previously reported experimental conditions made of alpha-modified minimum essential medium (alpha-MEM)/1 mM beta-mercaptoethanol (betaME), 10 microM alpha-MEM/retinoic acid (RA) or alpha-MEM/2% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) + 200 microM beta-hydroxyanisole (BHA), respectively, and in a new experimental condition with neural progenitor maintenance medium (NPMM).