Schisandrin B promotes hepatic differentiation from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells
Meixian Jin,
Xiao Yi,
Xiaojuan Zhu,
Wei Hu,
Simin Wang,
Qi Chen,
Wanren Yang,
Yang Li,
Shao Li,
Qing Peng,
Mingxin Pan,
Yi Gao,
Shiyuan Xu,
Ying Zhang,
Shuqin Zhou
Affiliations
Meixian Jin
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Xiao Yi
Department of Gynecology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Xiaojuan Zhu
Department of Anesthesiology, First People’s Hospital of Kashi, Kashi 844000, China
Wei Hu
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Simin Wang
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Qi Chen
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Wanren Yang
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Yang Li
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Shao Li
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Qing Peng
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Mingxin Pan
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Yi Gao
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Shiyuan Xu
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Corresponding author
Ying Zhang
General Surgery Center, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis Research, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Corresponding author
Shuqin Zhou
Department of Anesthesiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, China; Anesthesiology Department of The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen & Longgang District People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518172, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs)-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) have shown great promise in the treatment of liver diseases. However, most current induction protocols yield hepatocyte-like cells with limited function as compared with primary hepatocytes. Schisandrin B (Sch B) is one of the main components of Schisandra chinensis, which can prevent fibrosis progression and promote liver cell regeneration. Herein, we investigated the effects of Sch B on hepatic differentiation of UC-MSCs. We found that treatment with 10 μM Sch B from the second stage of the differentiation process increased hepatic marker levels and hepatic function. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis revealed that Sch B promoted hepatic differentiation via activating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. When transplanted HLCs into mice with CCL4-induced liver fibrosis, Sch B-treated HLCs exhibited significant therapeutic effects. This study provides an optimized hepatic differentiation protocol for UC-MSCs based on Sch B, yielding functioning cells for liver disease treatment.
