Male and female rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are different in terms of the expression of germ cell specific genes.

Recent studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), under appropriate conditions, can differentiate into cell types including germ cells (GCs). These studies also show that MSCs without any induction express some GC-specific genes innately. Moreover, one report suggests that female MSCs have a greater tendency to differentiate into female instead of male GCs. Therefore, for the first time, this study attempts to assay and determine the differences between the expression levels of some important GC-specific genes (Stra8, Vasa, Dazl, Stella, Piwil2, Oct4, Fragilis, Rnf17 and c-Kit) in male and female bone marrow (BM)-MSCs of rats. BM sampling of the rate was performed by a newly established method. We cultured rat BM samples, then characterized male and female MSCs according to their adhesion onto the culture dish, their differentiation potential into bone, cartilage and fat cells, and phenotype analysis by flow cytometry. The expression of GC-specific genes and their expression levels were evaluated with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time RT-PCR. Our results showed that Dazl and Rnf17 did not express in the cells. The majority of examined genes, except Piwil2, expressed at almost the same levels in male and female MSCs. Piwil2 had higher expression in male MSCs which was probably related to the more prominent role of Piwil2 in the male GC development process. Male BM-MSCs appeared more prone to differentiate into male rather than female GCs. Additional research should be performed to determine the exact role of different genes in the male and female GC development process.