Sonic hedgehog and retinoic acid synergistically promote sensory fate specification from bone marrow-derived pluripotent stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies demonstrated that stromal cells isolated from adult bone marrow have the competence of differentiating into neuronal cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the capacity of marrow stromal cells or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to differentiate into diverse neuronal cell populations and the identity of molecular factors that confer marrow stromal cells with the competence of a neuronal subtype have yet to be elucidated. Here, we show that Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and retinoic acid (RA), signaling molecules secreted from tissues in the vicinity of peripheral sensory ganglia during embryogenesis, exert synergistic effects on neural-competent MSCs to express a comprehensive set of glutamatergic sensory neuron markers. Application of Shh or RA alone had little or no effect on the expres

SUBMITTER: Kondo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC555703 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature