Differentiation of Human Wharton Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Germ-Like Cells; emphasis on evaluation of Germ-long non-coding RNAs

Background The proliferation and differentiation of stem cells into Germ-Like Cells (GLCs) is mediated by several growth factors and specific genes, of which some are related to long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). We have developed a modified differentiation process and identified a panel of GermlncRNAs related to GLCs. Methods Human Wharton Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells were treated with 25 ng/ml Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-4 and 10 − 5 M all-trans retinoic acid to differentiate them into germ-like cells. To confirm the differentiation, changes in the expression of Oct-4, C-kit, Stella, and Vasa genes were assessed using quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR) and immunocytochemistry. QPCR was also used before and after differentiation to evaluate the changes in a lncRNA panel, using a 96-well array. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by SPSS 21. Results After 21 days of induction, the HWJ-MSCs derived germ-like cells were formed. Also, qPCR and immunocytochemistry showed that the pluripotent Oct4 marker was expressed in the undifferentiated HWJ-MSCs, but its expression gradually decreased in the differentiated cells. C-kit was expressed on days 7, 14, and 21 of differentiation. Both GLC markers of Stella and Vasa genes/proteins were present only in differentiated cells. Of the 44 lncRNA genes array, 36 of them showed an increase and eight genes showed a decrease. Conclusion Our study showed that BMP4 and RA are effective in inducing HWJ-MSCs differentiation into GLCs. In addition, our study for the first time showed changes in the lncRNAs expression during the differentiation of HWJ-MSCs into GLCs by using BMP4 and RA.