Simulated uterus microenvironment induced human placental mesenchymal stem cells differentiation to uterus smooth muscle cells in vitro

Abstract

To develop a new method to promote the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human placenta (pMSC) to uterus smooth muscle cells (uSMC) in simulated uterus microenvironment. MSCs were isolated from human placenta, cultivated, and analyzed for their phenotype by flow cytometry. The multipotential differentiation of the pMSC was examined by chondrogenic, adipogenic, and osteogenetic induction. uSMC were isolated from uteri resected during operation and co-cultivated with the pMSC in a Transwell chamber simulating Two, 4, and 8 days later RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of alpha-actin, calmodulin, and myosin heavy chains (MHC), the markers of smooth muscle differentiation at the early, middle, and late stages. On day 8 RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of estrogen receptor in these 2 groups of cells, then estrogen was used to stimulate these cells and the protein kinase C (PKC) activity was examined. The pMSC could be induced into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes respectively. After co-culture with uSMC, the morphology of the pMSC changed closely into that of the uSMC, and MHC was expressed in the pMSC. Estrogen receptor was positive in both groups of cells. The PKC activity increased, especially in the cell membrane, after stimulation of estrogen. The postpartum human placenta can be used as an important and novel source of multipotent stem cells for tissue engineering and genetic engineering. Placental MSC have the potential to differentiate into smooth muscle cells under the simulated uterus microenvironment in vitro.