INDUCTION OF HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS FROM NEONATAL AND ADULT SOURCES BY A SMALL MOLECULE COCKTAIL

Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are good candidates for brain cell-replacement strategies and has been already used as adjuvant treatment in neurological disorders. MSCs can be obtained from many different sources, and the present study compares the neuronal potential transdifferentiation of MSCs from adult and neonatal sources with a protocol previously tested, consisting in a cocktail of six small molecules: I-BET151, CHIR99021, Forskolin, RepSox, Y-27632, and dbcAMP (ICFRYA). A neuronal morphology and the presence of cells positive to neuronal markers (TUJ-1 and MAP2) were considered attributes of neuronal induction. The present study showed marked differences between MSCs from different sources in response to the transdifferentiation protocol here used. These results may contribute to identifying the best source of MSCs for potential cell-replacement therapies. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from umbilical cord blood (UCB-MSCs) or bone marrow (BM-MSCs) were cultured in with neuronal induction medium plus six small molecules (I-BET151, CHIR99021, Forskolin, RepSox, Y-27632, and dbcAMP). UCB-MSCs and BM-MSCs cultured in mesenchymal medium were incluided as CONTROL.