Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) promotes the neural differentiation of full-term amniotic fluid-derived stem cells towards neural progenitor cells

• The GSK3 inhibitor SB216763 promotes the self-renewal of CD117-positive hAFS cells.
• The GSK3 inhibitor SB216763 promotes the direct differentiation of CD117-positive hAFS cells towards neural precursor cells.
• This study provides a new protocol for hAFS cells to commit efficiently into a neural fate within a short period of time.

The amniotic fluid has a heterogeneous population of cells. Some human amniotic fluid-derived stem (hAFS) cells have been shown to harbor the potential to differentiate into neural cells. However, the neural differentiation efficiency of hAFS cells remains low. In this study, we isolated CD117-positive hAFS cells from amniotic fluid and then examined the pluripotency of these cells through the formation of embryoid bodies (EBs). Additionally, we induced the neural differentiation of these cells using neuroectodermal medium. This study revealed that the GSK3-beta inhibitor SB216763 was able to stimulate the proliferation of CD117-positive hAFS cells without influencing their undifferentiated state. Moreover, SB216763 can efficiently promote the neural differentiation of CD117-positive hAFS cells towards neural progenitor cells in the presence of DMEM/F12 and N2 supplement. These findings provide an easy and low-cost method to maintain the proliferation of hAFS cells, as well as induce an efficacious generation of neural progenitor cells from hAFS cells. Such induction of the neural commitment of hAFS cells may provide an option for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases by hAFS cells-based therapies.