Aims: The present study reports an easy and efficient method for obtaining adult mesenchymal precursors from different adult mouse tissues.
Materials and methods: We describe the isolation and expansion of mesenchymal precursors from skin and lung by a non-enzymatic method. Skin and lung mesenchymal precursors isolated by a modified explant technique were characterized in vitro by defined morphology and by a specific gene expression profile and surface markers.
Results and conclusions: Our results show that these precursors express stem cell and mesenchymal surface markers as well as epithelial markers. However, they are negative for markers of endothelium, cardiac and skeletal muscle or adipose tissue, indicating that they have initiated commitment to the tissues from which were isolated. These precursors can migrate without any stimulus and in response to stimuli as SDF1, MCP1 and TNFα and can be differentiated into epithelial lineages. Based on the properties of these precursors from adult tissues, we propose their use as tools for regenerative biomedicine.