Objective To observe whether umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) can differentiate into the smooth muscle cells (SMCs) induced by bladder SMCs (BSMCs) conditioned medium so as to seek an alternative seed cells for the repair and reconstruction of the urology system. Methods UCMSCs and BSMCs were harvested from umbilical cord of full-term births and bladder tissues which were obtained from patients who underwent a radical cystectomy. BSMCs conditioned medium was prepared by mixing supernatant of BSMCs at passages 1-5 with complete medium at ratio of 1 ∶ 1. UCMSCs at passage 3 were cultured with BSMCs conditioned medium (induced group, group A) and complete medium (control group, group B), respectively; simple BSMCs served as positive control group (group C). The morphological changes of co-cultured UCMSCs were observed by inverted phase microscope, the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), Calponin, and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SM-MHC) of UCMSCs were tested by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot at 7 and 14 days. Results The morphology of UCMSCs in group A started to change from a polygonal and short spindle shape to a large and spindle shape after co-culture, which was similar to BSMCs morphology; but the morphology of UCMSCs did not change obviously in group B. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the expressions of α-SMA, Calponin, and SM-MHC were positive in group C. At 7 days, the expression of α-SMA could be observed in groups A and B; at 14 days, the positive expression of α-SMA increased gradually in group A, but it did not increase in group B. At 7 days, a positive expression of Calponin could be observed in group A, and positive expression increased obviously at 14 days; the expression of Calponin could not be observed at 7 and 14 days in group B. However, the expression of SM-MHC could not be observed in groups A and B. The results of Western blot showed the expressions of α-SMA, Calponin, and SM-MHC protein were consistent with the results of immunofluorescence staining. Conclusion UCMSCs have the potential of differentiation into SMCs and may be a potential seed cells for bladder tissue engineering.
Objective To investigate the protective effect of annexin A1 (ANXA1) derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HucMSCs) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced acute lung injury (ALI). Methods Six-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a sham group, a LPS group, a LPS+HucMSC-cm (LPS+cm) group, a LPS+nc-cm group, and a LPS+si-cm group, with 6 mice in each group. LPS (5 mg/kg) was intratracheally injected to induce ALI model. Then, normal saline, HucMSC-cm (HucMSC conditioned medium), HucMSC-nc-cm (normal ANXA1 expression) and HucMSC-si-cm (knockout of ANXA1) were injected intratracheally with 50 μL each after LPS treatment for 4 hours. After 72 hours of LPS administration, the mice were killed, and the blood and lung tissues were retained. After corresponding treatment, the blood and lung tissues were preserved. The expression of IL-6 in peripheral blood of mice was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay, the pathological changes of lung tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, and the expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in lung tissues of each group were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Results Compared with the sham group, the lung histopathology of mice in the LPS group showed significantly increased inflammatory factor infiltration, alveolar collapse, and lung tissue structure destruction as well as lung tissue injury score and wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) increased (all P<0.05). Accordingly, IL-6 and VCAM-1 protein levels in lung tissue and IL-6 expression in peripheral blood were increased (all P<0.05). Compared with the LPS group, the pathological injury of lung tissue in the LPS+cm group was improved, the lung tissue injury score and the W/D ratio decreased while IL-6, VCAM-1 protein levels in lung tissue and IL-6 expression in peripheral blood were decreased (all P<0.05). But there were no significant differences between the LPS+cm group and the LPS+ nc-cm group (all P>0.05). Compared with the LPS+nc-cm group, lung tissue pathological injury was aggravated again, lung tissue injury score and W/D were also increased in the LPS+si-cm group (all P<0.05). IL-6 and VCAM-1 protein levels in lung tissue and IL-6 expression in peripheral blood were increased again (all P<0.05). Conclusion ANXA1 derived from HucMSCs has certain protective effect in LPS-induced ALI model.