Application of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Observe the Morphological Changes by Induction with Decellularized Corneal Extracellular Matrix and Specified Medium

In recent years, many researches have focused on the behaviors of ADSCs induced with tissue-specific environment such as corneal extracellular matrix (ECM) due to their same embryonic origin from neural crest. In this study, human ADSCs were cultivated on bovine ECM (bECM) with different culture medium, including ADSC preserved medium (APM), supplemented hormonal epithelial medium (SHEM) and keratinocyte serum free medium (KSFM), compared to TCPS substrate. Cell morphology, proliferation and cytoskeleton markers were examined. The induction results implicated by morphology and immunostaining evidence showed that ADSCs exhibited spindle-shaped morphology on bECM cultured with APM and SHEM, while it displayed dendritic phenotype on bECM in KSFM. Moreover, the F-actin staining demonstrated a diffused expression in KSFM condition, which is different from a dense and thickened expression pattern in APM and SHEM when ADSCs were cultured on bECM. The ADSCs induced with serum-free medium and decellularized corneal ECM showed altered morphology and cytoskeleton structures different from serum-containing medium, which implied the differentiation potential of ADSCs and potential characteristics of corneal stromal cells.