Inhibition of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Maintains Stemness in Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells

Chika Takano, Masafumi Horie, Isamu Taiko, Quang Duy Trinh, Kazunori Kanemaru, Shihoko Komine-Aizawa, Satoshi Hayakawa, Toshio Miki

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), which are a type of placental stem cell, express stem cell marker genes and are capable of differentiating into all three germ layers under appropriate culture conditions. hAECs are known to undergo TGF-β-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); however, the impact of EMT on the stemness or differentiation of hAECs has not yet been determined. Here, we first confirmed that hAECs undergo EMT immediately after starting primary culture. Comprehensive transcriptome analysis using RNA-seq revealed that inhibition of TGF-β-dependent EMT maintained the expression of stemness-related genes, including NANOG and POU5F1, in hAECs. Moreover, the maintenance of stemness did not affect the nontumorigenic characteristics of hAECs. We showed for the first time that TGF-β-dependent EMT negatively affected the stemness of hAECs, providing novel insight into cellular processes of placental stem cells. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3083-3091
Number of pages9
JournalStem Cell Reviews and Reports
Volume18
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • Comprehensive transcriptome analysis
  • Epithelial-mesenchymal transition
  • Human amniotic epithelial cells
  • Stemness
  • TGF-β pathway

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