Biological characterization and pluripotent identification of sheep dermis-derived mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells

Dermis-derived mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (DMS/PCs) were a multipotential stem cell population, which has potential applications in the tissue damage repair and skin transplant. Although a large number of studies deal with the human DMS/PCs self-renewal and regulation, however, the study of livestock-derived DMS/PCs has rarely been reported. Here, sheep DMS/PCs were isolated from one-month-old sheep embryos and studied at the cellular and molecular level. And then the DMS/PCs biological characteristics were analysed by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Experimental results showed that DMS/PCs could be expanded for 48 passages and the cells viability and hereditary character were steady. In addition, the DMS/PCs maker β -integrin, CD71, CD44, and CD73 were expressed positively through RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Passage 3 DMS/PCs were successfully induced to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and neurocytes, respectively. The above results suggest that DMS/PCs not only have strong self-renewal capacity but also have the potential to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and neurocytes. The study provides theoretical basis and experimental evidence for potential clinical application.