HOXC10 as a potential marker for discriminating between amnion- and decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells

The HOX family of genes plays a fundamental role in the morphogenesis of vertebrate embryonic cells. HOX genes are thought to be important for the regulation of stem cells. We investigated HOX gene expression in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from human placentas. We isolated MSCs from human placentas and confirmed stemness by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis and differentiation studies. Using reverse transcription PCR, mRNA expression of 39 Class I HOX genes was measured in the MSCs. The expression of HOXB6, C4, C8, C10, D3, D4, and D10 were measured by Western blot analysis. HOXC10 was expressed in 10 of 10 amnion-derived MSCs but in only 2 of 10 decidua-derived MSCs. HOXC4 and D10 were expressed in 100% of both amnion-derived MSCs and deciduas-derived MSCs. HOXD4 was silent in all amnion-derived MSCs and deciduas-derived MSCs (n = 10). HOX gene activation patterns might be a useful indicator for the detection of MSCs of different tissue origins. We demonstrated that HOXC10 is a gene that may discriminate between amnion-derived MSCs and decidua-derived MSCs.