Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are primarily isolated by their adherence to plastic and their in vitro growth characteristics. Expansion of these cells from an adherent culture is the only method to obtain a sufficient number of cells for use in clinical practice and research. However, little is known with regard to the effect of adherence to plastic on the phenotype of the cells. In the present study, bone marrow CD45-CD31-CD44- stem cell antigen (Sca)-1+ MSCs were sorted by flow cytometry and expanded in adherent cultures. The expression levels of the adhesion molecule, Sca-1, in the adherent cultures were compared with those from nonadherent cultures at different time points. The flow cytometry results indicated that the expression levels of Sca-1 decreased in the MSCs in the nonadherent cultures grown in ultra-low-adherent plates. Furthermore, the result was confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction at the same time points. Therefore, the results demonstrated that the loss of plastic adherence downregulated the expression of Sca-1. The observations may provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying plastic adherent culture.
Keywords: adherent culture; mesenchymal stem cells; nonadherent culture; phenotype; stem cell antigen-1.