Vascular wall-resident CD44+ multipotent stem cells give rise to pericytes and smooth muscle cells and contribute to new vessel maturation.

ABSTRACT: Here, we identify CD44(+)CD90(+)CD73(+)CD34(-)CD45(-) cells within the adult human arterial adventitia with properties of multipotency which were named vascular wall-resident multipotent stem cells (VW-MPSCs). VW-MPSCs exhibit typical mesenchymal stem cell characteristics including cell surface markers in immunostaining and flow cytometric analyses, and differentiation into adipocytes, chondrocytes and osteocytes under culture conditions. Particularly, TGFß1 stimulation up-regulates smooth muscle cell markers in VW-MPSCs. Using fluorescent cell labelling and co-localisation studies we show that VW-MPSCs differentiate to pericytes/smooth muscle cells which cover the wall of newly formed endothelial capillary-like structures in vitro. Co-implantation of EGFP-labelled VW-MPSCs and human umbil

SUBMITTER: Klein D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3102739 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature