Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) on adhesion, migration and morphology of mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)．Methods We isolated and cultured BMSCs from wild-type and NCAM gene knockout mice. The expression of NCAM was detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Wound healing and adhesion assays were used to detect cell migration and adhesion ability respectively. The morphological changes were observed and the expressings of protein β1 integrin, E-cadherin, β-catenin and N-cadherin were analysed by Western blot. Results The migration and adhesion of BMSCs were significantly reduced after NCAM gene knockout. Meanwhile, the expression of β1 integrin was lower than those in wild-type BMSCs (P<0.01). The morphology of NCAM gene knockout BMSCs changed from irregular to flattened, and expressed epithelial identification marker E-cadherin and β-catenin (P<0.05). However, the expression level of mesenchymal identification marker N-cadherin was decreased (P<0.01). Conclusions NCAM is involved in adhesion and migration of BMSCs via regulating the expression of β1 integrin. Furthermore, NCAM may negatively regulate the mesenchymal-epithelial transitions of BMSCs.

Key words: neural cell adhesion molecule, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, migration, mesenchymal-epithelial transitions