Nöromesodermal progenitorlerden elde edilen embryonic kök hücrelerden fonksiyonel mezenkimal kök hücrelerin oluşturulması

Cell therapy is known as transferring intact, living cells to a patient to reduce or treat a disease. Cells can be obtained from the patient (autologous cells) or another donor (allogeneic cells). Cellular therapy from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) is the most preferred form of cellular therapy. Multipotency, paracrine activities and immunoregulatory properties make MSCs a reliable and efficient cell source for cell-based treatments. However, inadequate cell number, surgical procedures, and risks of contamination limit the use of MSCs in clinical treatments. Identification of new and alternative progenitors such as neuromesodermal progenitors (NMP) from embryonic stem cells can facilitate the derivation of tissue specific MSCs in culture and enable them to be used for therapeutic fields. Their applications may be useful in clinical therapies because NMPs are not pluripotent and do not cause teratoma. Derivation of tissue specific MSCs from NMPs can be a new approach of cell banking applications. In the current project, NMPs were derived from embryonic stem cells and differentiated into MSCs in vitro. Colony-forming unit abilities of MSCs and fibroblast-like cell morphology were analyzed. Endothelial properties of the obtained cells were tested by co-culture and tube formation analysis indicating the developmental fate decision. Finally, green fluorescence protein positive NMPs were injected into NOD/SCID mice to observe in vivo localization. As a result, it was possible to discover the potential of NMPs in future clinical applications as a reliable and alternative cell source. The current study has managed to explain the potential of these NMP-derived MSCs both in vitro and in vivo as a promising source for cell therapy and banking applications for regenerative medicine.