Open AccessEfficient Generation of Chemically Induced Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Dermal Fibroblasts
Author(s) -
PeiLun Lai,
Hsuan Liang Lin,
ShangFu Chen,
Shan-Yi Yang,
Kuo-Hsuan Hung,
Ching-Fang Chang,
Hsiu-Ju Chang,
Frank Leigh Lu,
Yi-Hsuan Lee,
Yuchuan Liu,
HsiaoChun Huang,
Jean Lu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep44534
Subject(s) - mesenchymal stem cell , regenerative medicine , stem cell , stromal cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , cell therapy , multipotent stem cell , biology , chemistry , medicine , progenitor cell
Human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent and currently undergoing hundreds of clinical trials for disease treatments. To date, no studies have generated induced MSCs from skin fibroblasts with chemicals or growth factors. Here, we established the first chemical method to convert primary human dermal fibroblasts into multipotent, induced MSC-like cells (iMSCs). The conversion method uses a defined cocktail of small molecules and growth factors, and it can achieve efficient conversion with an average rate of 38% in 6 days. The iMSCs have much higher clonogenicity than fibroblasts, and they can be maintained and expanded in regular MSC medium for at least 8 passages and further differentiated into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondrocytes. Moreover, the iMSCs can suppress LPS-mediated acute lung injury as effectively as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. This finding may greatly benefit stem cell biology, cell therapy, and regenerative medicine.