ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:The umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells possess multipotent differentiation capacity, but less research focus on its differentiation into fibroblasts. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the capacity of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells differentiating into fibroblasts. METHODS:Using adherent method, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells were isolated, and flow cytometric analysis of the surface antigen was performed. Passage 3 cells were selected for osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, and cells differentiated into fibroblasts under the induction of basic fibroblast growth factor. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Adherent stem cells were stably isolated from the umbilical cord. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells lowly expressed CD31, CD45, CD40, HLA-DR, but strongly expressed CD29, CD90, CD44, CD105. Oil red O staining showed red droplets were ful of the cytoplasm after adipogenic induction;alizarin red staining showed red calcium nodules after osteogenic induction. After induced by basic fibroblast growth factor, the type I col agen expression was significantly higher than that in the control group. These findings indicate that the adherent human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells are reliably isolated with high purity;basic fibroblast growth factor can induce differentiation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into fibroblasts.