Involvement of Notch1 inhibition in serum-stimulated glia and oligodendrocyte differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells.

The use of in vitro oligodendrocyte differentiation for transplantation of stem cells to treat demyelinating diseases is an important consideration. In this study, we investigated the effects of serum on glia and oligodendrocyte differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells (KP-hMSCs). We found that serum deprivation resulted in a reversible downregulation of glial- and oligodendrocyte-specific markers.

Signalling pathway in the induction of neurite outgrowth in human mesenchymal stem cells.

Recent in vivo transplantation studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were able to differentiate into mesoderm-derived cell types as well as cells with neuroectodermal characteristics, suggesting that transdifferentiation occurs in the mammalian system. We have reported an immortalized line of human MSCs (hMSCs), KP-hMSCs, which expresses CD29, CD44, CD90, and CD105, and complies with the characteristics shared by mere hMSCs. In a current experiment, we further demonstrated that expanded KP-hMSCs exhibited markers of neuroepithelial or neural precursor cells, such as Nestin, Musashi-1, Vimentin, NCAM, Pax-6, and Sox-9.