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. 2013 Feb 21;18(2):163–186. doi: 10.2478/s11658-013-0083-2

Human mesenchymal stem cells express neuronal markers after osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation

Dana Foudah 183, Juliana Redondo 183, Cristina Caldara 183, Fabrizio Carini 183, Giovanni Tredici 183, Mariarosaria Miloso 183,283,✉
PMCID: PMC6275956  PMID: 23430457

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that are able to differentiate into mesodermal lineages (osteogenic, adipogenic, chondrogenic), but also towards non-mesodermal derivatives (e.g. neural cells). Recent in vitro studies revealed that, in the absence of any kind of differentiation stimuli, undifferentiated MSCs express neural differentiation markers, but the literature data do not all concur. Considering their promising therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases, it is very important to expand our knowledge about this particular biological property of MSCs. In this study, we confirmed the spontaneous expression of neural markers (neuronal, glial and progenitor markers) by undifferentiated human MSCs (hMSCs) and in particular, we demonstrated that the neuronal markers βIII-tubulin and NeuN are expressed by a very high percentage of hMSCs, regardless of the number of culture passages and the culture conditions. Moreover, the neuronal markers βIII-tubulin and NeuN are still expressed by hMSCs after in vitro osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. On the other hand, chondrogenically differentiated hMSCs are negative for these markers. Our findings suggest that the expression of neuronal markers could be common to a wide range of cellular types and not exclusive for neuronal lineages. Therefore, the expression of neuronal markers alone is not sufficient to demonstrate the differentiation of MSCs towards the neuronal phenotype. Functional properties analysis is also required.

Key words: Mesenchymal stem cells, Neural markers, βIII-tubulin, NeuN, Osteogenic differentiation, Adipogenic differentiation, Chondrogenic differentiation, Neuronal differentiation

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Abbreviations used

AIM

adipogenic induction medium

AMM

adipogenic maintenance medium

BSA

bovine serum albumin

cAMP

cyclic adenosine monophosphate

DMEM

Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium

FACS

fluorescence-activated cell sorting

FBS

fetal bovine serum

DRG

dorsal root ganglia

FSC

forward light scatter

hMSCs

human mesenchymal stem cells

IBMX

3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine

NC

neural crest

NF

neurofilament

NGF

nerve growth factor

NPBM

neural progenitor basal medium

NRSF

neuron restrictive silencer factor

OCN

osteocalcin

OPN

osteopontin

OS

osteogenic

P

passage

SSC

side scatter

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