Differentiation potential of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into motorneuron-like cells on electrospun gelatin membrane.

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells are potent types of cells with self renewal ability and immunomodulatory properties. They not only have the capacity to differentiate into mesodermal lineages, but they are also capable to transdifferentiate into neural cells in vitro and in vivo. From a biological point of view, the specification of cell fate in the central nervous system is largely dictated by retinoic acid and sonic hedgehog. In addition with inductive molecules, electrospun three dimensional (3D) scaffolds with similar properties to natural extracellular matrix represent a physiological environment that could better resemble the in vivo microenvironment in comparison with two dimensional culture systems. In this regard, the aim of this study was to examine whether induction of human BM-MSCs with retinoic acid (RA) and sonic hedgehog (Shh) in combination with electrospun gelatin scaffold could lead to better differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) into motorneuron-like cells in vitro.