β-catenin accumulation is associated with increased expression of nanog protein and predicts maintenance of MSC self-renewal

Sang Jin Yu, Hyun Je Kim, Eui Seok Lee, Chung Gyu Park, Su Jin Cho, Soung Hoo Jeon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are self-renewing cells with the ability to differentiate into organized, functional network of cells. Recent studies have revealed that activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by a glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3-specific pharmacological inhibitor, Bio, results in the maintenance of self-renewal in both mouse and human ES cells. The molecular mechanism behind the maintenance of hMSCs by these factors, however, is not fully understood. We found that rEGF enhances the level of β-catenin, a component of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, it was found that β-catenin upregulates Nanog. EGF activates the β-catenin pathway via the Ras protein and also increased the Nanog protein and gene expression levels 2 h after rEGF treatment. These results suggest that adding EGF can enhance b-catenin and Nanog expression in MSCs and facilitate EGF-mediated maintenance of MSC self-renewal. EGF was shown to augment MSC proliferation while preserving early progenitors within MSC population and thus did not induce differentiation. Thus, EGF not only can be used to expand MSC in vitro but also be utilized to autologous transplantation of MSCs in vivo.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)365-377
Number of pages13
JournalCell Transplantation
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Cognizant, LLC.

Keywords

  • Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
  • Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs)
  • Self-renewing cells
  • β-Catenin

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'β-catenin accumulation is associated with increased expression of nanog protein and predicts maintenance of MSC self-renewal'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this