Effect of CD44 on differentiation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes via Smad and ERK signaling pathways

Abstract

cd44 antigen (cd44) is a transmembrane protein found in cell adhesion molecules and is involved in the regulation of various physiological processes in cells. it was hypothesized that cd44 directly affected the chondrogenic differentiation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (haMScs). in the present study, the expression of chondrocyte-associated factors was detected in the absence and presence of the antibody blocker anti-cd44 antibody during the chondrogenic differentiation of haMScs. Following inhibition of cd44 expression, the transcriptional levels of chondrocyte-associated genes SrY-box transcription factor 9, aggrecan and collagen type ii α 1 chain, as well as the production of chondrocyte markers type ii collagen and aggrecan were significantly decreased in haMScs. Further investigation indicated that there was no significant change in total erK1/2 expression following inhibition of cd44 expression; however, phosphorylated (p)-erK1/2 expression was decreased. The expression of p-Smad2/3 was also upregulated following cd44 inhibition. These data indicated that cd44 may affect the differentiation of haMScs into chondrocytes by regulating the Smad2/3 and erK1/2 signaling pathway.

Therapeutic Use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: The Need for Inclusive Characterization Guidelines to Accommodate All Tissue Sources and Species

“…For example, trypsin dissociation significantly reduces CD44 expression, as well as other MSC surface markers, on human MSCs compared to other dissociation agents such as TrypLE (Tsuji et al, 2017 ). Further, CD44 expression may also affect the chondrogenic differentiation of human MSCs via the Smad 2/3 and ERK ½ signaling pathway (Xu et al, 2020 ). In UC blood-derived MSCs, Kwon et al ( 2019 ) demonstrated that CD44 has an immunoregulatory role as evidenced by the induction of macrophage polarization via CD44 expression by the proteoglycan, decorin.…”

The Expression Pattern of Surface Markers in Canine Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…CD44 has important functions in cell–cell and cell-matrix interactions, including proliferation, hematopoiesis and lymphocyte activation, homing and extravasation [ 8 ]. CD44 is essential for maintaining cartilage homeostasis, influences the production of collagen II and aggrecan and influences the chondrodifferentiation of amniotic MSCs [ 9 ]. CD44 has been implicated in cancer, arthritis, interstitial lung disease, vascular disease, wound-healing and infections by pathogens [ 8 ].…”

3D Bioprinting of In Vitro Models Using Hydrogel-Based Bioinks

“…Hyaluronic acid, abundant in cartilage, connective tissues, and synovial fluid in our body, has excellent rheological and biochemical properties, and is an attractive material for bioink [ 81 , 82 ]. In particular, hyaluronic acid has been used for cartilage tissue regeneration, since it has the potential to induce chondrogenic differentiation due to the CD44 interaction with laden cells [ 83 , 84 ]. The use of hyaluronic acid as a bioink requires chemical modifications and/or mixing with other polymer materials, resulting in solidification of the fabricated 3D structure.…”