Abstract
Purpose: :
Mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult human adipose tissue (ADS cells) manifest differentiation capacity towards different lineages. However, their plasticity to differentiate into epithelial characteristics still remains little well-known. The use of ADS cells is promising for future cell therapies including ocular surface reconstruction. The aim of this research is to study the role of laminin matrices to induce changes on marker expression in ADS cells cultured into different conditions.
Methods: :
ADS cells obtained from human lipoaspirates were cultured in different conditions with and without laminin substrates. Several epithelial-cell media and specific supplements were used for culture growth. Adhesion and proliferation assays onto different laminin matrices have been studied. The expression of several epithelial and progenitor cells markers has been analyzed by immunoblotting and quantitative real time PCR.
Results: :
Adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of ADS cells also occurred on laminin substrates after 21 to 28 days in culture with specific medium. No difference was observed in ADS cells adhesion on laminin. However, significant differential patterns in cellular proliferation were observed between laminin and laminin-5. Cultures with conditioned medium from immortalized human corneal epithelial cells improved expression of some markers, such as integrins α2, α6 and β1 subunits and ΔNp63α. Laminin-5 improved expression of cadherins. We also observed that in general, the expression of EGF receptor and NGF receptor increases in ADS cells cultured onto laminin matrix.
Conclusions: :
ADS cells in specific conditions exhibited changes in several cellular markers which characterized epithelial expression. These results allow us to consider ADS cells as a potential cell type for regenerative medicine of ocular surface.
Keywords: cornea: basic science • transplantation • cornea: epithelium