Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are vesicles released by cells, which due to their cargo and cell membrane proteins induce changes in the recipient cells. These vesicles can be a novel option to induce stem cell differentiation. Here we described a method to induce mesenchymal stem cell differentiation (MSC) into neuron-like cells using small EVs from neurons. First, we will describe a method based on neurons to induce adipocyte derived stem cells differentiation, a type of MSC, by coculturing both using inserts. Secondly, we will describe a follow-up method by using only isolated neuron-derived small EVs to directly induce ADSC differentiation in neuron-like cells. Importantly, in both methods it is possible to avoid the direct cell-to-cell contact, thus allowing for the study of soluble factors role during stem cell differentiation.
Keywords: Cell differentiation; Exosomes; Extracellular vesicles; Indirect cell communication; Transwell.