Fuente: PubMed "plant biotechnology" Cell Tissue Bank. 2026 Mar 30;27(2):19. doi: 10.1007/s10561-026-10217-3.ABSTRACTWharton's jelly-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) have received much attention in recent years due to their non-invasive isolation method and potential for allogeneic transplantation. This study assessed the differentiation of human WJ-MSCs into neuron-like cells using retinoic acid (RA), 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), in combination with reduced graphene oxide nanoparticles (rGO), linalyl acetate (LA), and lavender extract nanoemulsion (LEN). Lavender extract was obtained through sequential extraction using n-hexane, methanol, and ethyl acetate, followed by nanoemulsion preparation. The nanoemulsion properties were analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential measurement, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Optimal doses were determined via MTT assay for cell viability and Acridine Orange/Ethidium Bromide (AO/EB) staining for cell death detection. The expression of neuron-specific genes (NSE, MAP-2, β-tubulin III, and Oligo-2) was analyzed using quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR). Furthermore, the protein levels of neuronal markers gamma-enolase (NSE), MAP-2, and β-tubulin III were assessed by immunocytochemistry (ICC) on days 7 and 14. Gene and protein expression analyses demonstrated that rGO-LEN and rGO-LA significantly (p-value ≤ 0.05) enhance the neural differentiation of human WJ-MSCs. These treatments induced a significant increase in the expression of neural markers (both at the gene and protein levels) on day 7 and especially on day 14 compared to the control group and other treatments. These findings can provide initial insights to guide and develop future research to achieve new and effective therapeutic approaches in the field of regenerative medicine and neuroregenerative research.PMID:41910819 | DOI:10.1007/s10561-026-10217-3