Physicochemical Control of Adult Stem Cell Differentiation: Shedding Light on Potential Molecular Mechanisms
Figure 2
Typical temporal profiles of [Ca2+]i oscillation observed in human MSC neurodifferentiation. The cell-type dependent characteristics of the [Ca2+]i oscillations are displayed (a). The undifferentiated human MSCs show a pattern of regular [Ca2+]i oscillation (top trace). The [Ca2+]i oscillations become suppressed and irregular in time for human MSCs undergoing osteodifferentiation (second trace; at week 3). For comparison, we monitored the [Ca2+]i oscillation in primary myocytes (third trace). The human MSCs undergoing neurodifferentiation, however, show yet another pattern of the [Ca2+]i oscillation (bottom trace; at day 5) that resemble neither the undifferentiated human MSCs nor other cell types. Further, the [Ca2+]i oscillation profiles of myocytes and neuronal cells could be distinguished. Unlike the undifferentiated human MSCs, the neurogenic cells exhibit multiple [Ca2+]i oscillations and spikes whose amplitudes vary substantially. The two panels (b) and (c) show the distribution of the Ca2+ spikes measured at the day 1 and 7 of MSC neurodifferentiation, respectively.
