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Janssen K, van Ruiten GW, Eijkelkamp N, Damaser MS, van der Vaart CH. Effects of mesenchymal stem cells and heparan sulfate mimetics on urethral function and vaginal wall biomechanics in a simulated rat childbirth injury model. Int Urogynecol J 2023; 34:1635-1644. [PMID: 36662271 PMCID: PMC10287815 DOI: 10.1007/s00192-022-05439-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS New treatments are needed for pelvic floor disorders. ReGeneraTing Agent® (RGTA®) is a promising regenerative therapy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare regenerative abilities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and RGTA® on regeneration after simulated childbirth injury in rats. METHODS Rats underwent pudendal nerve crush and vaginal distension (PNC+VD) or sham injury. Rats that underwent PNC+VD were treated intravenously with vehicle, MSCs or RGTA® 1 h, 7 days, and 14 days after surgery. Sham rats received 1 ml vehicle at all time points. After 21 days, urethral function and pudendal nerve function were tested. Vaginal tissues were harvested for biomechanical testing and histology. Biaxial testing was performed to measure tissue stiffness. RESULTS PNC+VD decreased urethral and pudendal nerve function compared with sham. Vaginal wall stiffness was significantly decreased in longitudinal and transverse tissue axes after PNC+VD compared with sham. MSC or RGTA® did not restore urethral or pudendal nerve function. However, MSC treatment resolved loss in vaginal wall stiffness in both tissue axes and improved collagen content within the vaginal wall. RGTA® treatment increased vaginal wall anisotropy by increasing relative stiffness in the longitudinal direction. PNC+VD (with vehicle or MSCs) enhanced elastogenesis, which was not observed after RGTA® treatment. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with MSCs facilitated recovery of vaginal wall biomechanical properties and connective tissue composition after PNC+VD, whereas treatment with RGTA® resulted in anisotropic biomechanical changes. This indicates that MSCs and RGTA® promote different aspects of vaginal tissue regeneration after simulated childbirth injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Janssen
- Division Woman and Baby, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584CX, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
- Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
| | - Geertruida W van Ruiten
- Division Woman and Baby, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584CX, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Niels Eijkelkamp
- Center of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Margot S Damaser
- Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Carl H van der Vaart
- Division Woman and Baby, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584CX, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Mori da Cunha MGMC, van der Veer BK, Giacomazzi G, Mackova K, Cattani L, Koh KP, Vande Velde G, Gijsbers R, Albersen M, Sampaolesi M, Deprest J. VEGF overexpressed mesoangioblasts enhance urethral and vaginal recovery following simulated vaginal birth in rats. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8622. [PMID: 37244975 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35809-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaginal birth causes pelvic floor injury which may lead to urinary incontinence. Cell therapy has been proposed to assist in functional recovery. We aim to assess if intra-arterial injection of rat mesoangioblasts (MABs) and stable Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-expressing MABs, improve recovery of urethral and vaginal function following simulated vaginal delivery (SVD). Female rats (n = 86) were assigned to either injection of saline (control), allogeneic-MABs (MABsallo), autologous-MABs (MABsauto) or allogeneic-MABs transduced to stably expressed VEGF (MABsallo-VEGF). One hour after SVD, 0.5 × 106 MABs or saline were injected into the aorta. Primary outcome was urethral (7d and 14d) and vaginal (14d) function; others were bioluminescent imaging for cell tracking (1, 3 and 7d), morphometry (7, 14 and 60d) and mRNAseq (3 and 7d). All MABs injected rats had external urethral sphincter and vaginal function recovery within 14d, as compared to only half of saline controls. Functional recovery was paralleled by improved muscle regeneration and microvascularization. Recovery rate was not different between MABsallo and MABsauto. MABsallo-VEGF accelerated functional recovery and increased GAP-43 expression at 7d. At 3d we detected major transcriptional changes in the urethra of both MABsallo and MABsallo-VEGF-injected animals, with upregulation of Rho/GTPase activity, epigenetic factors and dendrite development. MABSallo also upregulated transcripts that encode proteins involved in myogenesis and downregulated pro-inflammatory processes. MABsallo-VEGF also upregulated transcripts that encode proteins involved in neuron development and downregulated genes involved in hypoxia and oxidative stress. At 7d, urethras of MABsallo-VEGF-injected rats showed downregulation of oxidative and inflammatory response compared to MABSallo. Intra-arterial injection of MABsallo-VEGF enhances neuromuscular regeneration induced by untransduced MABs and accelerates the functional urethral and vaginal recovery after SVD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina G M C Mori da Cunha
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Surgical Technologies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Woman and Child, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Department of Development and Regeneration, Experimental Gynecology Laboratory -Lok 05.30 ON3, Herestraat 49, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Bernard K van der Veer
- Laboratory for Stem Cell and Developmental Epigenetics, Department of Development and Regeneration, Stem Cell Institute Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Giorgia Giacomazzi
- Translational Cardiomyology Laboratory, Stem Cell Biology and Embryology Unit, Department Development and Regeneration, Stem Cell Institute Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Katerina Mackova
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Surgical Technologies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Woman and Child, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Third Faculty of Medicine, Institute for the Care of the Mother and Child, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Laura Cattani
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Surgical Technologies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Woman and Child, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kian Peng Koh
- Laboratory for Stem Cell and Developmental Epigenetics, Department of Development and Regeneration, Stem Cell Institute Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Greetje Vande Velde
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Biomedical MRI/Molecular Small Animal Imaging Center (MoSAIC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Rik Gijsbers
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene Therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
- Leuven Viral Vector Core, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maarten Albersen
- Department of Urology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maurilio Sampaolesi
- Translational Cardiomyology Laboratory, Stem Cell Biology and Embryology Unit, Department Development and Regeneration, Stem Cell Institute Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Deprest
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Surgical Technologies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Group Biomedical Sciences, Woman and Child, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Pelvic Floor Unit, University Hospitals KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Biressi S, Filareto A, Rando TA. Stem cell therapy for muscular dystrophies. J Clin Invest 2021; 130:5652-5664. [PMID: 32946430 DOI: 10.1172/jci142031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Muscular dystrophies are a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases, characterized by progressive degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Despite the intense investigation of different therapeutic options, a definitive treatment has not been developed for this debilitating class of pathologies. Cell-based therapies in muscular dystrophies have been pursued experimentally for the last three decades. Several cell types with different characteristics and tissues of origin, including myogenic stem and progenitor cells, stromal cells, and pluripotent stem cells, have been investigated over the years and have recently entered in the clinical arena with mixed results. In this Review, we do a roundup of the past attempts and describe the updated status of cell-based therapies aimed at counteracting the skeletal and cardiac myopathy present in dystrophic patients. We present current challenges, summarize recent progress, and make recommendations for future research and clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Biressi
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO) and.,Dulbecco Telethon Institute, University of Trento, Povo, Italy
| | - Antonio Filareto
- Department of Research Beyond Borders, Regenerative Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ridgefield, Conneticut, USA
| | - Thomas A Rando
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and.,Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.,Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair and Restoration, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, USA
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Ben Menachem- Zidon O, Gropp M, Ben Shushan E, Reubinoff B, Shveiky D. Systemically transplanted mesenchymal stem cells induce vascular-like structure formation in a rat model of vaginal injury. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218081. [PMID: 31194823 PMCID: PMC6563972 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The beneficial effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on wound healing is mostly attributed to a trophic effect that promotes angiogenesis. Whether MSCs can contribute to the formation of new blood vessels by direct differentiation is still controversial. Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a group of disorders that negatively affect the quality of women's lives. Traditional vaginal surgical repair provides disappointing anatomical outcome. Stem cell transplantation may be used to supplement surgery and improve its outcome. Here we aimed to examine the engraftment, survival, differentiation and angiogenic effect of transplanted MSCs in a vaginal injury rat model. MSCs were obtained from the bone marrow of Sprague Drawley (SD) rats, expanded and characterized in vitro. The MSCs expressed CD90 and CD29, did not express CD45, CD34, CD11b and CD31 and could differentiate into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages. Cells were labeled with either PKH-26 or GFP and transplanted systemically or locally to female SD rats, just after a standardized vaginal incision was made. Engraftment after local transplantation was less efficient at all-time points compared to systemic administration. In the systemically transplanted animal group, MSCs migrated to the injury site and were present in the healed vagina for at least 30 days. Both systemic and local MSCs transplantation promoted host angiogenesis. Systemically transplanted MSCs created new vascular-like structures by direct differentiation into endothelium. These findings pave the way to further studies of the potential role of MSCs transplantation in improving surgical outcome in women with PFD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofra Ben Menachem- Zidon
- The Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, Hadassah - Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Michal Gropp
- The Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, Hadassah - Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Etti Ben Shushan
- The Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, Hadassah - Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Benjamin Reubinoff
- The Hadassah Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, Hadassah - Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - David Shveiky
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah - Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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