PDE4 Inhibition by Rolipram Promotes Neuronal Differentiation in Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) can promote axonal elongation and facilitate neuronal repair, while decreased cAMP is associated with losses in neuronal regenerative capacity. Rolipram, which upregulates intracellular cAMP by blocking phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) enzyme activity, can mitigate diverse neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated whether rolipram induces neuronal differentiation of human bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). Rolipram-treated MSCs (Roli-MSCs) had significantly increased expression of the neuroprogenitor proteins Nestin, Musashi, GFAP, and Sox-2. When Roli-MSCs were differentiated with neuronal induction media (Roli-dMSCs), they exhibited cell body and dendritic morphologies similar to those of neurons. The neurite number and length of Roli-dMSCs were significantly increased compared to those of differentiated MSCs (dMSCs). Compared with undifferentiated hBM-MSCs, the Roli-dMSCs and dMSCs showed significantly increased expression of the neuronal-specific marker genes Nestin, Musashi, CD133, GFAP, NF-M, MAP-2, KCNH1, KCNH5, SCN3A, and CACNA1A, and decreased expression of other lineage-specific markers Adiponectin, ALP, FABP4, and MMP13. The Roli-dMSCs also showed a higher expression of the neuronal markers Nestin, Musashi, Sox-2, NF-M, and Tuj-1 compared to those of the undifferentiated hBM-MSCs, measured by immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting assay. Thus, we have shown that rolipram ameliorates neuronal differentiation by the regulation of neuroprogenitor expression in hBM-MSCs, and rolipram treatment of MSCs may improve the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative disorders.