Effect of Mouse Liver Extract on in Vitro Differentiation of Amniotic Membrane Stem Cells into Hepatocyte-Like Cells

Multipotent placental amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are capable of differentiating into specialized tissues under different conditions. The aim of this study was to induce differentiation of placental amniotic membrane MSCs from NMRI mouse into hepatocytes using liver extract.
Placental amniotic membrane MSCs from a 14-day pregnant female mouse was used in this study. The cells were incubated with trypsin solution, followed by pipetting. The resulting suspension was cultured in 12-well plates. After confirming their mesenchymal nature, differentiation of the aforementioned cells was induced via exposure to 6, 18, 30 and 60 μg/ml of liver extract. On the 16th day of treatment, immunocytochemical reaction for albumin and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) test were performed for detection of hepatocyte-like cells.
Change was observed in the shape of differentiating cells from spindle-like shape to polygonal shape. The immunocytochemical reaction of the differentiated cells was positive. PAS staining also confirmed the accumulation of glycogen particles in the aforementioned cells. Concentration of 6 μg/ml liver extract was found as the effective dose for induction of differentiation.
The findings of this study show that the placental amniotic membrane-derived MSCs of mouse can differentiate in vitro from spindle-like cells to polygonal hepatocyte-like cells with large nuclei and under the influence of the liver.