DIFFERENTIATION OF LYMPHATIC ENDOTHELIAL CELLS FROM BONE MARROW MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS WITH VEGFS

Abstract

Although there have been manyexperimental studies demonstrating that bonemarrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) have the potential to differentiate intomesenchymal tissues such as osteocytes,chondrocytes, and adipocytes in vivo and invitro, little information is available regardingtheir potential to differentiate into lymphaticendothelial cells. Therefore, we chose toinvestigate differentiation of MSCs intolymphatic endothelial cells using stimulationwith members of the vascular endothelialgrowth factor (VEGFs) family. Rat MSCswere isolated from bone marrow aspirate ofSprague-Dawley rats as previously describedand characterized with flow cytometry forsurface markers CD14, CD34, CD29, andCD90. Purified MSCs were plated andcultured in the presence of VEGF-A, VEGFC,or the combination of both for 10 days. Weexamined the cells for Prox-1 and LYVE-1 byimmunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, and Westernblot analysis. Results demonstrated thatcompared to controls, cell differentiated withVEGF-A, VEGF-C and VEGF-A+VEGF-C expressed Prox-1 and LYVE-1. Our resultsindicate that MSCs induced by VEGFs arecapable of differentiating into lymphaticendothelial-like cells in vitro, and thisresponse has the potential to make themattractive candidates for the development ofautologous tissue grafts for future therapy.