Therapeutic effect of transplanting beta(2)m(-)/Thy1(+) bone marrow-derived hepatocyte stem cells transduced with lentiviral-mediated HGF gene into CCl(4)-injured rats

Adipose tissue stem cells in regenerative medicine

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are mesenchymal cells with the capacity for self-renewal and multipotential differentiation. This multipotentiality allows them to become adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, osteoblasts and neurocytes among other cell lineages. Stem cells and, in particular, adipose tissue-derived cells, play a key role in reconstructive or tissue engineering medicine as they have already proven effective in developing new treatments. The purpose of this work is to review the applications of ADSCs in various areas of regenerative medicine, as well as some of the risks associated with treatment with ADSCs in neoplastic disease.

Transplantation of human matrix metalloproteinase-1 gene-modified bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell attenuates CCL4-induced liver fibrosis in rats

It has been reported that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) alleviated liver fibrosis. We investigated whether BMSCs transfected with human matrix metalloproteinase 1 (BMSCs/MMP1) would improve their therapeutic effect in liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in rats. BMSCs were transfected with an adenovirus carrying enhanced green fluorescence protein (GFP) and human MMP1 gene. BMSCs or BMSCs/MMP1 were directly injected into fibrotic rats via the tail vein. GFP-labeled cells appeared in the fibrotic liver after BMSC transplantation. The expression of BMSCs/MMP1 elevated levels of MMP1 in vitro. Although BMSC administration reduced liver fibrosis, transplantation of BMSCs/MMP1 enhanced the reduction of liver fibrosis to a higher level. Treatment with BMSCs/MMP1 not only decreased collagen content but also suppressed activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in fibrotic liver, which led to subsequent improvement of both liver injury and fibrosis. Treatment with BMSCs/MMP1 resulted in an improved therapeutic effect compared with BMSCs alone, which is probably because of the sustainably expressed MMP1 level in the liver. BMSCs/MMP1 transplantation not only improved biochemical parameters but also attenuated progression of liver fibrosis, suggesting that BMSCs may be a potential cell source in preventing liver fibrosis and MMP1 gene may enhance the anti-fibrotic effect of BMSCs.