Ca²⁺ and EGF induce the differentiation of human embryo mesenchymal stem cells into epithelial‐like cells

Abstract

The mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) occurs in organ development and anti-tumorigenesis. We have investigated the effects of calcium (Ca(2+)) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSCs) differentiation into epithelial-like cells. hMSCs lost their biological characteristics after EGF transfection, and MET was achieved by adding 0.4 mmol Ca(2+). Western blotting and immunofluorescence showed expression of EGF, keratin, keratin 19 (K19), β1-integrin, E-cadherin and phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (p-FAK, Ser-910) increased in hMSCs infected with EGF and exposed to Ca(2+), although Smad3 activation was downregulated. hMSCs co-stimulated with EGF transfection and Ca(2+) can therefore differentiate into epithelial-like cells in vitro.

Liver-derived human mesenchymal stem cells: a novel therapeutic source for liver diseases

“…EGF stimulates proliferation of MSCs by binding to EGF receptor (EGFR) [ 38 ]. MSCs transfected with an EGF vector and stimulated by Ca + can differentiate into epithelial-like cells [ 39 ]. FGF, which constitutes a family of at least seven closely related polypeptides with heparin-binding properties, plays a pivotal role during the initial stage of endodermal patterning [ 40 ].…”

Human embryonic mesenchymal stem cells alleviate pathologic changes of MRL/Lpr mice by regulating Th7 cell differentiation

“…The hMSC used in this study were isolated from 4-to 6-week-old embryos from volunteers who underwent pregnancy termination with RU-486, an antiprogesterone compound. 13 Our previous studies 17,18 [6][7][8][9] have demonstrated that MSC therapy could achieve remarkable therapeutic outcomes in SLE patients and animal models. Zhou et al 6 used human bone marrow MSC (BMSC) and Gu et al 7 used mouse-derived MSC to treat SLE in MRL/Lpr mouse models for 33 weeks and found that the survival rate in the treatment groups was 100% versus 40% and 55% in the control groups.…”