Abstract: Objective Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have the potential to differentiate to glomerular mesangial cells. Based on established research, our study was aimed to reconfirm the mesangial cell differentiation potential of BMSCs, and study the mechanism of cell induction. Methods Rat BMSCs were isolated and cultured in the presence of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) -BB to induce the mesangial cell phenotype. On culture day 7, the cell morphology, mesangial cell-specific markers, and cell contraction function were examined. MAPK/ERK kinase inhibitor (PD98059) was added to examine its impact on cell growth and mesangial cells marker expression. Results After cultivation under the differentiation condition for 7 days, the induced cells expressed α-Actin and Desmin, which highly resembled cultured mesangial cells in rat. The induced cells with increasing level of PDGF receptors mRNA expression changed into a wide range of shapes from spindle to stellate and were contracted in response to angiotensin Ⅱ. PD98059 perturbed the induced cells mesangial cell-specific markers mRNA expression. Conclusion These data indicated that BMSCs can differentiate into mesangial-like cells with PDGF-BB induction in vitro. The mechanism involved in the differentiation was mediated through MAPK/ERK1/2 signal transduction pathway.

Key words: Bone marrow stem cells, Differentiation, Mesangial-like cells, Signal pathway