Abstract: Objective The aim of this study is to explore whether human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells （hUC-MSCs）can be induced to undergo directed differentiation when co-cultured with tissue-specific cells in a three-dimensional gel. Methods Human UC-MSCs and rat urogenital sinus mesenchymal cells（rUGSSs） were isolated and cultured. The two kinds of cells were subcultured, amplified and characterized. hUC-MSCs were co-cultured with rUGSSs in a 3-dimensional collagen gel in vitro. Results Here we report that when hUC-MSCs were co-cultured with rUGSSs in a 3-dimensional collagen gel in vitro, they could differentiate into prostate epithelial-like cells. These prostatic epithelial-like cells could be verified with prostate epithelial cell markers. Conclusion hUC-MSCs could be induced into prostate epithelial-like cells by co-culture with rUGSSs. rUGSSs might provide a stem cell niche that promotes the hUC-MSCs to undergo a directed differentiation into cells of a specific type of tissue cells.

Key words: umbilical cord, mesenchymal stem cells, microenvironment, differentiation