Establishment and characterization of mesenchymal stem cell-like clonal stem cells from mouse salivary glands

Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2015 May;21(5):447-57. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2014.0204. Epub 2014 Dec 11.

Abstract

Successful therapy for radiation-induced salivary gland (SG) hypofunction is currently unavailable; however, tissue-specific stem cells are expected to be promising candidates for SG regeneration. Here, we present our method for the establishment of single cell-derived clonal stem cells from mouse SGs and describe their characteristics. Salivary gland-derived clonal stem cells (SGSCs) were isolated and expanded in vitro by a modified subfractionation culture method. The properties of SGSCs were examined with respect to their marker expression, gene expression, differentiation potential, and in vitro immunosuppressive activity relative to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). SGSCs appeared to largely share the characteristics of BM-MSCs based on their marker expression, whereas they differentially expressed some genes, including AQP5, E-Cadherin, Laminin, ZO-1, and COL4. SGSCs showed the ability to differentiate into fat, bone, and cartilage cell types, as well as into α-amylase-producing and hepatocyte-like cells after appropriate induction. The in vitro immunosuppressive activity of SGSCs was found to be more potent than that of BM-MSCs. These results showed that SGSCs possess the properties of MSCs with some differential gene expression and they are salivary-specific stem cells with both epithelial and mesenchymal properties. The biological functions of SGSCs and their relevance to SG epithelial progenitor cells require further investigation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cell Separation / methods*
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Hepatocytes / cytology
  • Male
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C3H
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Submandibular Gland / cytology*
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • alpha-Amylases / metabolism

Substances

  • alpha-Amylases