Human Placenta-Derived CD146-Positive Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Display a Distinct Osteogenic Differentiation Potential

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can be differentiated in vitro into a variety of cell types, including adipocytes or osteoblasts. Our recent studies indicated that a high expression of CD146 on MSCs from bone marrow correlates with their robust osteogenic differentiation potential. We therefore investigated if expression of CD146 on MSCs from the placenta correlates with a similar osteogenic differentiation potential. The MSCs were isolated specifically from the endometrial and fetal parts of human term placenta and expanded in separate cultures and compared with MSCs from bone marrow as controls. The expression of cell surface antigens was investigated by flow cytometry. Differentiation of MSCs was documented by cytochemistry and analysis of typical lineage marker genes. CD146-positive MSCs were separated from CD146-negative cells by magnet-assisted cell sorts (MACS). We report that the expression of CD146 is associated with a higher osteogenic differentiation potential in human placenta-derived MSCs (pMSCs) and the CD146(pos) pMSCs generated a mineralized extracellular matrix, whereas the CD146(neg) pMSCs failed to do so. In contrast, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of pMSCs was not different in CD146(pos) compared with CD146(neg) pMSCs. Upon enrichment of pMSCs by MACS, the CD146(neg) and CD146(pos) populations maintained their expression levels for this antigen for several passages in vitro. We conclude that CD146(pos) pMSCs either respond to osteogenic stimuli more vividly or, alternatively, CD146(pos) pMSCs present a pMSC subset that is predetermined to differentiate into osteoblasts.