Comparison of the Neural Differentiation Potential of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Amniotic Fluid and Adult Bone Marrow

• Published in: Cellular and molecular neurobiology 2013-05, Vol.33 (4), p.465-475
• Main Authors: Yan, Zhong-Jie, Hu, Yu-Qin, Zhang, Hong-Tian, Zhang, Peng, Xiao, Zong-Yu, Sun, Xin-Lin, Cai, Ying-Qian, Hu, Chang-Chen, Xu, Ru-Xiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Amniotic Fluid - cytology; Animals; Biomarkers - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Bone Marrow Cells - cytology; Bone Marrow Cells - metabolism; Cell Biology; Cell Proliferation; Cell Separation; Cell Shape; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - pathology; Chromosomal Instability; Chromosomes, Mammalian - metabolism; Humans; Immunophenotyping; Karyotyping; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - metabolism; Mice; Middle Aged; Multipotent Stem Cells - cytology; Multipotent Stem Cells - metabolism; Nerve Growth Factors - metabolism; Neural Stem Cells - cytology; Neural Stem Cells - metabolism; Neurobiology; Neurogenesis; Neurons - cytology; Neurosciences; Short Communication; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0272-4340; 1573-6830; 1573-6830
• DOI: 10.1007/s10571-013-9922-y

Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a promising tool for cell-based therapies of nervous system diseases. Bone marrow (BM) has been the traditional source of MSCs (BM-MSCs). However, there are some limitations for their clinical use, such as the decline in cell number and differentiation potential with age. Recently, amniotic fluid (AF)-derived MSCs (AF-MSCs) have been shown to express embryonic and adult stem cell markers, and can differentiate into cells of all three germ layers. In this study, we isolated AF-MSCs from second-trimester AF by limiting dilution and compared their proliferative capacity, multipotency, neural differentiation ability, and secretion of neurotrophins to those of BM-MSCs. AF-MSCs showed a higher proliferative capacity and more rapidly formed and expanded neurospheres compared to those of BM-MSCs. Both immunocytochemical and quantitative real-time PCR analyses demonstrated that AF-MSCs showed higher expression of neural stemness markers than those of BM-MSCs following neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation. Furthermore, the levels of brain-derived growth factor and nerve growth factor secreted by AF-MSCs in the culture medium were higher than those of BM-MSCs. In addition, AF-MSCs maintained a normal karyotype in long-term cultures after NSC differentiation and were not tumorigenic in vivo. Our findings suggest that AF-MSCs are a promising and safe alternative to BM-MSCs for therapy of nervous system diseases.