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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Comparison of Two Representative Methods for Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
Published on: October 20, 2023
[Telomerase activity and telomere length of human mesenchymal stem cells. Changes during osteogenic differentiation]
M Schieker1, H Gülkan, B Austrup
1Chirurgische Klinik und Chirurgische Poliklinik-Innenstadt, Klinikum der Universität München. matthias.schieker@med.uni-muenchen.de
Abstract:
Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) exhibit properties of self-renewal and differentiation. Assuming that telomerase activity is associated with self-renewal, it might be useful to identify and define hMSC on the basis of their telomerase status. However, telomerase activity in hMSC remains a controversial issue. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate telomerase activity in proliferating and highly proliferating hMSC and to measure telomerase activity and changes in telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length of confluent hMSC and of osteogenically differentiated hMSC. For tissue engineering applications scaffolds should be seeded with cells that have not lost their ability to self-replicate and differentiate during in vitro cell culture. Telomerase activity could be used to characterise and isolate these cells.
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