Involvement of WNT Signaling in the Regulation of Gestational Age-Dependent Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation

• Published in: Stem cells international Vol. 2017; no. 2017; pp. 1 - 16
• Main Authors: Nishida, Kosuke, Ikuta, Toshihiko, Mizobuchi, Masami, Taniguchi-Ikeda, Mariko, Morioka, Ichiro, Iijima, Kazumoto, Nishimura, Noriyuki, Koda, Tsubasa, Kurokawa, Daisuke, Kuroda, Jumpei, Thwin, Khin Kyae Mon, Yamana, Keiji, Yoshida, Makiko, Shono, Akemi, Iwatani, Sota, Fujioka, Kazumichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2017; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Age; Bone marrow; Cell cycle; Cell growth; Cell proliferation; Cellular signal transduction; Degenerative diseases; Differentiation; DNA microarrays; Embryos; Gene expression; Genes; Gestation; Gestational age; Health aspects; Hospitals; Infants; Medicine; Mesenchyme; Newborn babies; Pediatrics; Rodents; Stem cells; Umbilical cord; Wnt protein; Japan
• ISSN: 1687-966X; 1687-9678; 1687-9678
• DOI: 10.1155/2017/8749751

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous cell population that is isolated initially from the bone marrow (BM) and subsequently almost all tissues including umbilical cord (UC). UC-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) have attracted an increasing attention as a source for cell therapy against various degenerative diseases due to their vigorous proliferation and differentiation. Although the cell proliferation and differentiation of BM-derived MSCs is known to decline with age, the functional difference between preterm and term UC-MSCs is poorly characterized. In the present study, we isolated UC-MSCs from 23 infants delivered at 22–40 weeks of gestation and analyzed their gene expression and cell proliferation. Microarray analysis revealed that global gene expression in preterm UC-MSCs was distinct from term UC-MSCs. WNT signaling impacts on a variety of tissue stem cell proliferation and differentiation, and its pathway genes were enriched in differentially expressed genes between preterm and term UC-MSCs. Cell proliferation of preterm UC-MSCs was significantly enhanced compared to term UC-MSCs and counteracted by WNT signaling inhibitor XAV939. Furthermore, WNT2B expression in UC-MSCs showed a significant negative correlation with gestational age (GA). These results suggest that WNT signaling is involved in the regulation of GA-dependent UC-MSC proliferation.