MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS: ISOLATION FROM MOUSE BONE MARROW AND DIFFERENTIATION TOWARDS MYOCARDIAL CELLS USING SPECIFIC GROWTH FACTORS

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenic protein, fibroblast growth factor, activin, and insulin-like growth factor family proteins on the mesenchymal stem cell differentiation in three lineages, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and cardiomyocytes. Established protocols for isolating mesenchymal stem cells and their differentiation were used during the experiment with some procedures and recommendations adjustment. The study analyzed growth factors’ effect on stem cell differentiation by observing cells’ morphological changes and immunofluorescent imaging analysis of specific cell markers. The results demonstrated that induction with growth factors was sufficient to differentiate the cells into all three lineages, which was evidenced by the morphological changes and expression of lineage-specific markers CD31, alpha-SMA, and cardiac troponin, and downregulation of stem cells specific marker CD105 for endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and cardiomyocytes, respectively. The findings demonstrate that mesenchymal stem cells derived from mice bone marrow can differentiate in a multilinear fashion when induced with growth factors, giving rise to three major types of heart cells, meaning its great potential in regenerative medicine, more specifically, the treatment of heart failure after ischemic heart diseases by compensating for the cell loss after myocardial infarction.