Directed differentiation of airway epithelial cells of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

The ability to generate lung and airway epithelial cells from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) would have applications in regenerative medicine, modeling of lung disease, drug screening, and studies of human lung development. In this research, hBMSCs were cultured in specialized airway epithelial cell growth media for differentiation of airway epithelial cells, including keratinocyte growth factor transferrin, bovine pituitary extract, epinephrine, triiodothyronine and retinoic acid. The surfactant protein C, a specific marker of type II pneumocytes, and its corresponding protein were demonstrated by immunofluorescence and western blotting after differentiation of airway epithelial cells, respectively. These cells were then transferred into an induced acute lung injury model. The results showed that the hBMSCs could induce differentiation in airway epithelial cells under the special conditions of the medium, the result for surfactant protein C was positive in differentiated airway epithelial cells using immunofluorescence and western blotting, and these cells were successfully colonized in the injured lung airway. In conclusion, our research shows that a population of airway epithelial cells can be specifically generated from hBMSCs and that induced cells may be allowed to participate in tissue repair.