1. Academic Validation
  2. Defining the role of 17β-estradiol in human endometrial stem cells differentiation into neuron-like cells

Defining the role of 17β-estradiol in human endometrial stem cells differentiation into neuron-like cells

  • Cell Biol Int. 2021 Jan;45(1):140-153. doi: 10.1002/cbin.11478.
Elham Hasanzadeh 1 2 3 Somayeh Ebrahimi-Barough 2 Narges Mahmoodi 4 Amir Mellati 1 Houra Nekounam 5 Arefeh Basiri 6 Shiva Asadpour 7 Diba Ghasemi 2 Jafar Ai 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
  • 2 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 3 Immunogenetics Research Center, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
  • 4 Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 5 Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  • 6 Department of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
  • 7 Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
Abstract

Human endometrial stem cells (hEnSCs) that can be differentiated into various neural cell types have been regarded as a suitable cell population for neural tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Considering different interactions between Hormones, growth factors, and Other factors in the neural system, several differentiation protocols have been proposed to direct hEnSCs towards specific neural cells. The 17β-estradiol plays important roles in the processes of development, maturation, and function of nervous system. In the present research, the impact of 17β-estradiol (estrogen, E2) on the neural differentiation of hEnSCs was examined for the first time, based on the expression levels of neural genes and proteins. In this regard, hEnSCs were differentiated into neuron-like cells after exposure to retinoic acid (RA), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and also fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) in the absence or presence of 17β-estradiol. The majority of cells showed a multipolar morphology. In all groups, the expression levels of nestin, Tuj-1 and NF-H (neurofilament heavy polypeptide) (as neural-specific markers) increased during 14 days. According to the outcomes of immunofluorescence (IF) and Real-Time PCR analyses, the neuron-specific markers were more expressed in the estrogen-treated groups, in comparison with the estrogen-free ones. These findings suggest that 17β-estradiol along with Other growth factors can stimulate and upregulate the expression of neural markers during the neuronal differentiation of hEnSCs. Moreover, our findings confirm that hEnSCs can be an appropriate cell source for cell therapy of neurodegenerative diseases and neural tissue engineering.

Keywords

estrogen; human endometrial stem cells; neural differentiation; neural tissue engineering; neurons.

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