Tabriz University of Medical Sciences BioImpacts 2228-5652 10 2 2020 03 30 Placenta mesenchymal stem cells differentiation toward neuronal-like cells on nanofibrous scaffold 117 122 10.34172/bi.2020.14 EN Fatemeh Rahimi-Sherbaf https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5098-7945 Samad Nadri https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-3152 Ali Rahmani Atousa Dabiri Oskoei https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3668-1456 Journal Article 10.34172/bi.2020.14 2019 06 17 2019 09 07 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.