Differentiation of adult rat bone marrow stem cells into epithelial progenitor cells in culture

We have previously obtained monoclonal bone marrow stem cells from adult rats (rMSCs) and induced them into phenotypic neurons. In the present study, we aimed to induce rMSCs into epithelial cells by culturing them onto compartmentalized permeable supports, which have been used for growing a variety of polarized epithelia in culture. Hematoxylin staining showed that after 4 days grown on permeable supports, rMSCs formed an epithelial-like monolayer. Immunofluorescence of the permeably-supported monolayers, but not the rMSCs grown in culture flasks, showed positive signals for epithelial markers, cytokeratin 5 & 8. RT-PCR results also showed the mRNA expression of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) as well as tight junction protein ZO-1 in the rMSC-derived monolayers grown on permeable supports but absent from those grown in culture flasks. However, western blot only detected protein expression of ZO-1 but not ENaC nor CFTR. The short-circuit current measurements showed that the rMSC-derived monolayers grown on permeable supports exhibited a trans-monolayer resistance of 30-50 Ω cm2; however, the monolayers did not respond to activators or blockers of CFTR or ENaC. The results suggest that compartmentalized or polarized culture conditions provide a suitable environment for rMSCs to differentiate into epithelial progenitor cells with tight junction formation; however, this condition is not sufficient for functional expression of epithelial ion channels associated with well-differentiated epithelia.