Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhance allogeneic bone marrow engraftment via collagen IV degradation

Therapeutic Effect of Schwann Cell-Like Cells Differentiated from Human Tonsil-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Diabetic Neuropathy in db/db Mice

BACKGROUND

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is the most common complication of diabetes, and approximately 50% of patients with this disease suffer from peripheral neuropathy. Nerve fiber loss in DN occurs due to myelin defects and is characterized by symptoms of impaired nerve function. Schwann cells (SCs) are the main support cells of the peripheral nervous system and play important roles in several pathways contributing to the pathogenesis and development of DN. We previously reported that human tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiated into SCs (TMSC-SCs), named neuronal regeneration-promoting cells (NRPCs), which cells promoted nerve regeneration in animal models with peripheral nerve injury or hereditary peripheral neuropathy.

METHODS

In this study, NRPCs were injected into the thigh muscles of BKS-db/db mice, a commonly used type 2 diabetes model, and monitored for 26 weeks. Von Frey test, sensory nerve conduction study, and staining of sural nerve, hind foot pad, dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were performed after NRPCs treatment.

RESULTS

Von Frey test results showed that the NRPC treatment group (NRPC group) showed faster responses to less force than the vehicle group. Additionally, remyelination of sural nerve fibers also increased in the NRPC group. After NRPCs treatment, an improvement in response to external stimuli and pain sensation was expected through increased expression of PGP9.5 in the sole and TRPV1 in the DRG.

CONCLUSION

The NRPCs treatment may alleviate DN through the remyelination and the recovery of sensory neurons, could provide a better life for patients suffering from complications of this disease.

Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Oral Cavity and Surrounding Areas: Types and Biomedical Applications

Adult mesenchymal stem cells are those obtained from the conformation of dental structures (DMSC), such as deciduous and permanent teeth and other surrounding tissues. Background: The self-renewal and differentiation capacities of these adult stem cells allow for great clinical potential. Because DMSC are cells of ectomesenchymal origin, they reveal a high capacity for complete regeneration of dental pulp, periodontal tissue, and other biomedical applications; their differentiation into other types of cells promotes repair in muscle tissue, cardiac, pancreatic, nervous, bone, cartilage, skin, and corneal tissues, among others, with a high predictability of success. Therefore, stem and progenitor cells, with their exosomes of dental origin and surrounding areas in the oral cavity due to their plasticity, are considered a fundamental pillar in medicine and regenerative dentistry. Tissue engineering (MSCs, scaffolds, and bioactive molecules) sustains and induces its multipotent and immunomodulatory effects. It is of vital importance to guarantee the safety and efficacy of the procedures designed for patients, and for this purpose, more clinical trials are needed to increase the efficacy of several pathologies. Conclusion: From a bioethical and transcendental anthropological point of view, the human person as a unique being facilitates better clinical and personalized therapy, given the higher prevalence of dental and chronic systemic diseases.

Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Applications in Neurodegenerative Disease Treatment and Integrated Omics Analysis for Successful Stem Cell Therapy

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), which are chronic and progressive diseases, are a growing health concern. Among the therapeutic methods, stem-cell-based therapy is an attractive approach to NDD treatment owing to stem cells' characteristics such as their angiogenic ability, anti-inflammatory, paracrine, and anti-apoptotic effects, and homing ability to the damaged brain region. Human bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) are attractive NDD therapeutic agents owing to their widespread availability, easy attainability and in vitro manipulation and the lack of ethical issues. Ex vivo hBM-MSC expansion before transplantation is essential because of the low cell numbers in bone marrow aspirates. However, hBM-MSC quality decreases over time after detachment from culture dishes, and the ability of hBM-MSCs to differentiate after detachment from culture dishes remains poorly understood. Conventional analysis of hBM-MSCs characteristics before transplantation into the brain has several limitations. However, omics analyses provide more comprehensive molecular profiling of multifactorial biological systems. Omics and machine learning approaches can handle big data and provide more detailed characterization of hBM-MSCs. Here, we provide a brief review on the application of hBM-MSCs in the treatment of NDDs and an overview of integrated omics analysis of the quality and differentiation ability of hBM-MSCs detached from culture dishes for successful stem cell therapy.

Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 as a Marker of Tonsil-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Assess Bone Marrow Cell Migration

BACKGROUND

To achieve optimal bone marrow engraftment during bone marrow transplantation, migration of donor bone marrow cells (BMCs) toward the recipient's bone marrow is critical. Despite the enhanced engraftment of BMCs by co-administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the efficiency can be variable depending on MSC donor. The purpose of this study is to examine the functional heterogeneity of tonsil-derived MSCs (TMSCs) and to identify a marker to evaluate efficacy for the enhancement of BMC migration.

METHODS

To examine the donor-to-donor variation of TMSCs in potentiating BMC migration, we isolated TMSCs from 25 independent donors. Transcriptome of TMSCs and proteome of conditioned medium derived from TMSC were analyzed.

RESULTS

Enhanced BMC migration by conditioned medium derived from TMSCs was variable depending on TMSC donor. The TMSCs derived from 25 donors showed distinct expression profiles compared with other cells, including fibroblasts, adipose-derived MSCs and bone marrow-derived MSCs. TMSCs were distributed in two categories: high- and low-efficacy groups for potentiating BMC migration. Transcriptome analysis of TMSCs and proteome profiles of conditioned medium derived from TMSCs revealed higher expression and secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 1 in the high-efficacy group. MMP1 knockdown in TMSCs abrogated the supportive efficacy of conditioned medium derived from TMSC cultures in BMC migration.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that secreted MMP1 can be used as a marker to evaluate the efficacy of TMSCs in enhancing BMC migration. Furthermore, the strategy of analyzing transcriptomes and proteomes of the MSCs may be useful to set the standard for donor variation.

Downregulation of COL12A1 and COL13A1 by a selective EP2 receptor agonist, omidenepag, in human trabecular meshwork cells

Omidenepag isopropyl (OMDI) is an intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering drug used to treat glaucoma. The active form of OMDI, omidenepag (OMD), lowers elevated IOP, the main risk factor for glaucoma, by increasing the aqueous humor outflow; however, a detailed understanding of this mechanism is lacking. To clarify the IOP-lowering mechanism of OMDI, the effects of OMD on the mRNA expression of the extracellular matrix, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) were evaluated in human trabecular meshwork cells. Under 2D culture conditions, the mRNA expression of FN1, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL12A1, and COL13A1 decreased in a concentration-dependent manner after 6 or 24 h treatment with 10 nM, 100 nM, and 1 μM OMD, while that of COL18A1 decreased after 6 h treatment with 1 μM OMD. Significant changes in expression were observed for many MMP and TIMP genes. Under 3D culture conditions, the extracellular matrix-related genes COL12A1 and COL13A1 were downregulated by OMD treatment at all three concentrations. Under both 2D and 3D culture conditions, COL12A1 and COL13A1 were downregulated following OMD treatment. Reduction in the extracellular matrix contributes to the decrease in outflow resistance, suggesting that the downregulation of the two related genes may be one of the factors influencing the IOP-lowering effect of OMDI. Our findings provide insights for the use of OMDI in clinical practice.

How mesenchymal stem cell cotransplantation with hematopoietic stem cells can improve engraftment in animal models

BACKGROUND

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) can be applied to both hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic diseases; nonetheless, it still comes with a number of challenges and limitations that contribute to treatment failure. Bearing this in mind, a possible way to increase the success rate of BMT would be cotransplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to improve the bone marrow niche and secrete molecules that enhance the hematopoietic engraftment.

AIM

To analyze HSC and MSC characteristics and their interactions through cotransplantation in murine models.

METHODS

We searched for original articles indexed in PubMed and Scopus during the last decade that used HSC and MSC cotransplantation and in vivo BMT in animal models while evaluating cell engraftment. We excluded in vitro studies or studies that involved graft versus host disease or other hematological diseases and publications in languages other than English. In PubMed, we initially identified 555 articles and after selection, only 12 were chosen. In Scopus, 2010 were identified, and six were left after the screening and eligibility process.

RESULTS

Of the 2565 articles found in the databases, only 18 original studies met the eligibility criteria. HSC distribution by source showed similar ratios, with human umbilical cord blood or animal bone marrow being administered mainly with a dose of 1 × 10⁷ cells by intravenous or intrabone routes. However, MSCs had a high prevalence of human donors with a variety of sources (umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, tonsil, adipose tissue or fetal lung), using a lower dose, mainly 10⁶ cells and ranging 10⁴ to 1.5 × 10⁷ cells, utilizing the same routes. MSCs were characterized prior to administration in almost every experiment. The recipient used was mostly immunodeficient mice submitted to low-dose irradiation or chemotherapy. The main technique of engraftment for HSC and MSC cotransplantation evaluation was chimerism, followed by hematopoietic reconstitution and survival analysis. Besides the engraftment, homing and cellularity were also evaluated in some studies.

CONCLUSION

The preclinical findings validate the potential of MSCs to enable HSC engraftment in vivo in both xenogeneic and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation animal models, in the absence of toxicity.

Conditioned medium from human tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells inhibits glucocorticoid-induced adipocyte differentiation

Obesity, which has become a major global health problem, involves a constitutive increase in adipocyte differentiation signaling. Previous studies show that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induce weight loss and glycemic control. However, the mechanisms by which MSCs regulate adipocyte differentiation are not yet known. In this study, we investigated the effects of conditioned medium obtained from human tonsil-derived MSCs (T-MSC CM) on adipocyte differentiation. We found that T-MSC CM attenuated adipocyte differentiation from early stages via inhibiting glucocorticoid signaling. T-MSC CM also increased the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and glucocorticoid receptors and decreased the subsequent nucleus translocation of glucocorticoid receptors. Chronic treatment of mice with synthetic glucocorticoids induced visceral and bone marrow adipose tissue expansion, but these effects were not observed in mice injected with T-MSC CM. Furthermore, T-MSC CM injection protected against reductions in blood platelet counts induced by chronic glucocorticoid treatment, and enhanced megakaryocyte differentiation was also observed. Collectively, these results demonstrate that T-MSC CM exerts inhibitory effects on adipocyte differentiation by regulating glucocorticoid signal transduction. These findings suggest that the therapeutic application of T-MSC CM could reduce obesity by preventing adipose tissue expansion.

Procollagen C-Endopeptidase Enhancer 2 Secreted by Tonsil-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increases the Oxidative Burst of Promyelocytic HL-60 Cells

Simple Summary

Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) improved the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in human promyelocytic leukaemia cells (HL-60) differentiated into neutrophil-like cells (dHL-60). TMSC-induced enhancement of ROS generation in dHL-60 cells was different depending on the TMSC donor. Comparison of RNA-sequencing data between high and low potentiating TMSC groups for ROS generation in dHL-60 cells showed elevated expressions of four genes: secreted frizzled-related protein 4, mesenteric estrogen-dependent adipogenesis, microfibrillar associated protein 5, and procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer 2 (PCOLCE2). Real-time PCR and Western blotting confirmed high levels of PCOLCE2 in the high potentiating TMSC group for ROS generation in dHL-60 cells. In addition, knockdown of PCOLCE2 in TMSCs reduced the enhancing efficacy of TMSCs regarding ROS generation in dHL-60 cells. Finally, treatment of recombinant PCOLCE2 protein augmented ROS production in dHL-60 cells with concomitant increases of NADPH oxidase (NOX) 3, NOX4, NOX5, and dual oxidase 2. Taken together, this study showed that PCOLCE2 levels in TMSCs could be used to select TMSCs with the high potentiating ability for ROS generation in neutrophils, and both TMSCs and PCOLCE2 may have the potential to enhance a frontline defence by increasing the efficiency of ROS generation in neutrophils.

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by neutrophils provide a frontline defence against invading pathogens. We investigated the supportive effect of tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) on ROS generation from neutrophils using promyelocytic HL-60 cells. Methods: Differentiated HL-60 (dHL-60) cells were cocultured with TMSCs isolated from 25 independent donors, and ROS generation in dHL-60 cells was measured using luminescence. RNA sequencing and real-time PCR were performed to identify the candidate genes of TMSCs involved in augmenting the oxidative burst of dHL-60 cells. Transcriptome analysis of TMSCs derived from 25 independent donors revealed high levels of procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer 2 (PCOLCE2) in TMSCs, which were highly effective in potentiating ROS generation in dHL-60 cells. In addition, PCOLCE2 knockdown in TMSCs abrogated TMSC-induced enhancement of ROS production in dHL-60 cells, indicating that TMSCs increased the oxidative burst in dHL-60 cells via PCOLCE2. Furthermore, the direct addition of recombinant PCOLCE2 protein increased ROS production in dHL-60 cells. These results suggest that PCOLCE2 secreted by TMSCs may be used as a therapeutic candidate to enhance host defences by increasing neutrophil oxidative bursts. PCOLCE2 levels in TMSCs could be used as a marker to select TMSCs exhibiting high efficacy for enhancing neutrophil oxidative bursts.

Promotion of Platelet Production by Co-Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Bone Marrow Transplantation

BACKGROUND

Therapeutic strategies that can promote platelet production are in demand to enhance clinical outcomes of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Our research group has studied human tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (T-MSCs) and their effectiveness in promoting bone marrow (BM) engraftment. Here, we analyzed the effects of T-MSCs on platelet production and hemostasis.

METHODS

Donor BM cells (BMCs) were isolated from C57BL/6 mice and transplanted with or without T-MSCs to BALB/c recipient mice. Mice were sacrificed and blood cells were counted using an Auto Hematology Analyzer. Femur sections were stained with CD41 antibody to analyze megakaryocytes in the BM. Growth factor secretion from MSCs was analyzed using the Quantibody Array. Effects of T-MSC conditioned medium (CM) on megakaryopoiesis were investigated using the MegaCult assay. In a mouse model of BMT, T-MSC CM was injected with or without anti-placental growth factor (α-PlGF) blocking antibody, and blood cell numbers and coagulation were analyzed.

RESULTS

T-MSC co-transplantation increased percent survival of BMT mice. Platelet numbers were significantly lower in the BMC-only group, whereas T-MSC co-transplantation restored circulating platelets to levels similar to those of the control group. Significantly reduced numbers of CD41 + megakaryocytes in Bu-Cy and BMC groups were increased by T-MSC co-transplantation. PlGF secretion from T-MSCs were detected and enhanced megakaryopoiesis, platelet production, and coagulation by T-MCS CM were disrupted in the presence of the α-PlGF blocking antibody.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated the effectiveness of T-MSC co-transplantation in promoting platelet production and coagulation after BMT. These findings highlight the potential therapeutic relevance of T-MSCs for preventing thrombocytopenia after BMT.