Genetically Engineered Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells Using HIV-Based Lentiviral Vectors as Gene Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases

Modulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells-Mediated Adaptive Immune Effectors' Repertoire in the Recovery of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

The breakdown of self-tolerance of the immune response can lead to autoimmune conditions in which chronic inflammation induces tissue damage. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a debilitating multisystemic autoimmune disorder with a high prevalence in women of childbearing age; however, SLE incidence, prevalence, and severity are strongly influenced by ethnicity. Although the mystery of autoimmune diseases remains unsolved, disturbance in the proportion and function of B cell subsets has a major role in SLE's pathogenesis. Additionally, colocalizing hyperactive T helper cell subgroups within inflammatory niches are indispensable. Despite significant advances in standard treatments, nonspecific immunosuppression, the risk of serious infections, and resistance to conventional therapies in some cases have raised the urgent need for new treatment strategies. Without the need to suppress the immune system, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), as ''smart" immune modulators, are able to control cellular and humoral auto-aggression responses by participating in precursor cell development. In lupus, due to autologous MSCs disorder, the ability of allogenic engrafted MSCs in tissue regeneration and resetting immune homeostasis with the provision of a new immunocyte repertoire has been considered simultaneously. In Brief The bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) lineage plays a critical role in maintaining the hematopoietic stem-cell microstructure and modulating immunocytes. The impairment of BM-MSCs and their niche partially contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE-like diseases. Allogenic MSC transplantation can reconstruct BM microstructure, possibly contributing to the recovery of immunocyte phenotype restoration of immune homeostasis. In terms of future prospects of MSCs, artificially gained by ex vivo isolation and culture adaptation, the wide variety of potential mediators and mechanisms might be linked to the promotion of the immunomodulatory function of MSCs.

Genetically Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Against Murine Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

We used recombinant interleukin 23 receptor (RIL-23R)-engineered mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to study its therapeutic role in enhancing inflammation of nervous tissue in the mouse model (EAE) of multiple sclerosis (MS). Recombinant IL-23 receptor construct was designed to enter MSCs. The bioactivity of the constructs was assessed by the co-culture of MSCs/CD4 + T cells. The EAE model was induced in mice. After cell transplantation, clinical scores were evaluated, and tissue demyelination was measured by Luxol fast blue staining. The transfection of RIL-23R mRNA improved MSC properties significantly to the inflamed regions of EAE mice, and it performed an increased suppressive function on the T lymphocyte proliferation. Furthermore, in vivo therapy with RIL-23R MSCs in EAE mice showed an enhanced therapeutic action than MSCs, proven by improved myelination and a reduction in the penetration of inflammatory cells into the white matter. Our targeted transplantation procedure of modified MSC can be applied to improve the effectiveness of cellular therapy for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Delivery in Individuals with Different Pathologies: Multimodal Tracking, Safety and Future Applications

Due to their ease of isolation and their properties, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely investigated. MSCs have been proved capable of migration towards areas of inflammation, including tumors. Therefore, they have been suggested as vectors to carry therapies, specifically to neoplasias. As most of the individuals joining clinical trials that use MSCs for cancer and other pathologies are carefully recruited and do not suffer from other diseases, here we decided to study the safety and application of iv-injected MSCs in animals simultaneously induced with different inflammatory pathologies (diabetes, wound healing and tumors). We studied this by in vitro and in vivo approaches using different gene reporters (GFP, hNIS, and f-Luc) and non-invasive techniques (PET, BLI, or fluorescence). Our results found that MSCs reached different organs depending on the previously induced pathology. Moreover, we evaluated the property of MSCs to target tumors as vectors to deliver adenoviruses, including the interaction between tumor microenvironment and MSCs on their arrival. Mechanisms such as transdifferentiation, MSC fusion with cells, or paracrine processes after MSCs homing were studied, increasing the knowledge and safety of this new therapy for cancer.

Assessment of ability of human adipose derived stem cells for long term overexpression of IL-11 and IL-13 as therapeutic cytokines

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are a type of mesenchymal stem cells with the therapeutic effects that make them one of the best sources for cell therapy. In this study, we aimed to assess the ability of human ADSCs for constant expression of IL-11 and IL-13, simultaneously. In this study, the characterized hADSCs were transduced with a lentiviral vector (PCDH-513B) containing IL-11 and IL-13 genes, and the ability of long-term expression of the transgenes was evaluated by ELISA technique on days 15, 45 and 75 after transduction. Our results indicated a high rate of transduction (more than 90%) in the isolated hADSCs. Our data showed the highest rate of expression on days 75 after transduction which was 242.67 pg/ml for IL-11 and 303.6 pg/ml for IL-13 compared with 35.2 pg/ml and 35.6 pg/ml in untreated cells, respectively (p = 0.001). Besides, MTT assay showed transduction of hADSCs with lentiviral viruses containing IL-11 and IL-13 had no adverse effect on hADSCs proliferation (p-value = 0.89). Finally, we successfully constructed a hADSC population stably overexpressing IL-11 as the neurotrophic cytokine and IL-13 as the anti-inflammatory cytokine and this transduced cells can be used for further studies in EAE mice model.

Adipocyte-Based Cell Therapy in Oncology: The Role of Cancer-Associated Adipocytes and Their Reinterpretation as Delivery Platforms

Cancer-associated adipocytes have functional roles in tumor development through secreted adipocyte-derived factors and exosomes and also through metabolic symbiosis, where the malignant cells take up the lactate, fatty acids and glutamine produced by the neighboring adipocytes. Recent research has demonstrated the value of adipocytes as cell-based delivery platforms for drugs (or prodrugs), nucleic acids or loaded nanoparticles for cancer therapy. This strategy takes advantage of the biocompatibility of the delivery system, its ability to locate the tumor site and also the predisposition of cancer cells to come in functional contact with the adipocytes from the tumor microenvironment for metabolic sustenance. Also, their exosomal content can be used in the context of cancer stem cell reprogramming or as a delivery vehicle for different cargos, like non-coding nucleic acids. Moreover, the process of adipocytes isolation, processing and charging is quite straightforward, with minimal economical expenses. The present review comprehensively presents the role of adipocytes in cancer (in the context of obese and non-obese individuals), the main methods for isolation and characterization and also the current therapeutic applications of these cells as delivery platforms in the oncology sector.

A CRISPR/Cas9 based polymeric nanoparticles to treat/inhibit microbial infections

The latest breakthrough towards the adequate and decisive methods of gene editing tools provided by CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR Associated System), has been repurposed into a tool for genetically engineering eukaryotic cells and now considered as the major innovation in gene-related disorders. Nanotechnology has provided an alternate way to overcome the conventional problems where methods to deliver therapeutic agents have failed. The use of nanotechnology has the potential to safe-side the CRISPR/Cas9 components delivery by using customized polymeric nanoparticles for safety and efficacy. The pairing of two (CRISPR/Cas9 and nanotechnology) has the potential for opening new avenues in therapeutic use. In this review, we will discuss the most recent advances in developing nanoparticle-based CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing cargo delivery with a focus on several polymeric nanoparticles including fabrication proposals to combat microbial infections.

Adipose Stem Cell Translational Applications: From Bench-to-Bedside

During the last five years, there has been a significantly increasing interest in adult adipose stem cells (ASCs) as a suitable tool for translational medicine applications. The abundant and renewable source of ASCs and the relatively simple procedure for cell isolation are only some of the reasons for this success. Here, we document the advances in the biology and in the innovative biotechnological applications of ASCs. We discuss how the multipotential property boosts ASCs toward mesenchymal and non-mesenchymal differentiation cell lineages and how their character is maintained even if they are combined with gene delivery systems and/or biomaterials, both in vitro and in vivo.