Fatemeh Rahimi-Sherbaf
1 
, Samad Nadri
2,3 , Ali Rahmani
2, Atousa Dabiri Oskoei
4* 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Yas Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
3 Zanjan Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Transplantation of stem cells with a nanofibrous scaffold is a promising approach for spinal cord injury therapy. The aim of this work was to differentiate neural-like cells from placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PDMSCs) using suitable induction reagents in three (3D) and two dimensional (2D) culture systems.
Methods: After isolation and characterization of PDMSCs, the cells were cultivated on poly-L-lactide acid (PLLA)/poly caprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous scaffold and treated with a neuronal medium for 7 days. Electron microscopy, qPCR, and immunostaining were used to examine the differentiation of PDMSCs (on scaffold and tissue culture polystyrene [TCPS]) and the expression rate of neuronal markers (beta-tubulin, nestin, GFAP, and MAP-2).
Results: qPCR analysis showed that beta-tubulin (1.672 fold; P ≤ 0.0001), nestin (11.145 fold; P ≤ 0.0001), and GFAP (80.171; P ≤ 0.0001) gene expressions were higher on scaffolds compared with TCPS. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that nestin and beta-tubulin proteins were recognized in the PDMSCs differentiated on TCPS and scaffold after 7 days in the neuroinductive differentiation medium.
Conclusion: Taken together, these results delegated that PDMSCs differentiated on PLLA/PCL scaffolds are more likely to differentiate towards diversity lineages of neural cells. It proposed that PDMSCs have cell subpopulations that have the capability to be differentiated into neurogenic cells.
Keywords: Placenta-derived stem cells, Differentiation, Neural-like cells, Fibrous scaffold