Phenotypic Characterization of Adherent Cells Population CD34+ CD90+ CD105+ Derived from Wharton's Jelly

Optimizing Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine: Influence of Diabetes, Obesity, Autoimmune, and Inflammatory Conditions on Therapeutic Efficacy: A Review

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising tool that may be used in regenerative medicine. Thanks to their ability to differentiate and paracrine signaling, they can be used in the treatment of many diseases. Undifferentiated MSCs can support the regeneration of surrounding tissues through secreted substances and exosomes. This is possible thanks to the production of growth factors. These factors stimulate the growth of neighboring cells, have an anti-apoptotic effect, and support angiogenesis, and MSCs also have an immunomodulatory effect. The level of secreted factors may vary depending on many factors. Apart from the donor's health condition, it is also influenced by the source of MSCs, methods of harvesting, and even the banking of cells. This work is a review of research on how the patient's health condition affects the properties of obtained MSCs. The review discusses the impact of the patient's diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and inflammation, as well as the impact of the source of MSCs and methods of harvesting and banking cells on the phenotype, differentiation capacity, anti-inflammatory, angiogenic effects, and proliferation potential of MSCs. Knowledge about specific clinical factors allows for better use of the potential of stem cells and more appropriate targeting of procedures for collecting, multiplying, and banking these cells, as well as for their subsequent use. This article aims to review the characteristics, harvesting, banking, and paracrine signaling of MSCs and their role in diabetes, obesity, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and potential role in regenerative medicine.

VEGF Expression in Umbilical Cord MSC Depends on the Patient's Health, the Week of Pregnancy in Which the Delivery Took Place, and the Body Weight of the Newborn - Preliminary Report

Introduction

Cells collected from Wharton's jelly are a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells. They can be easily obtained and grown using the adhesive method. They produce many types of proteins, including VEGF. Their role is to participate in angiogenesis, vasodilation, stimulation of cells to migrate, and chemotactic activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate expression of genes from the vascular endothelial growth factor family: VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFC in MSC and the analysis of dependence of the expression of the studied genes on clinical factors related to the course of pregnancy and childbirth, and health of mother and child.

Material and Methods

The research material was an umbilical cord obtained from 40 patients hospitalized in the Department of Obstetrics and Pathology of Pregnancy of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No.1 in Lublin. The age of the women was 21-46, all gave birth by cesarean section. Some of the patients suffered from hypertension and hypothyroidism. Material collected from patients immediately after delivery was subjected to enzymatic digestion with type I collagenase. The isolated cells were then cultured in adherent conditions, and then gene expression was assessed using qPCR and the immunophenotype of the cells was assessed cytometrically.

Results

Conducted studies have shown significant differences in expression of VEGF family genes depending on clinical condition of mother and child. Significant differences in VEGF-family gene expression level in umbilical cord MSC collected from women with hypothyroidism, hypertension, time of labor and birth weight of the baby were shown.

Conclusion

Probably due to hypoxia (caused, for example, by hypothyroidism or hypertension), the MSCs found in the umbilical cord may react with an increased expression of VEGF and a compensatory increase in the amount of secreted factor, the aim of which is, i.a., vasodilation and increase of blood supply to the fetus through the umbilical vessels.

Evaluation of the Impact of Pregnancy-Associated Factors on the Quality of Wharton's Jelly-Derived Stem Cells Using SOX2 Gene Expression as a Marker

SOX2 is a recognized pluripotent transcription factor involved in stem cell homeostasis, self-renewal and reprogramming. It belongs to, one of the SRY-related HMG-box (SOX) family of transcription factors, taking part in the regulation of embryonic development and determination of cell fate. Among other functions, SOX2 promotes proliferation, survival, invasion, metastasis, cancer stemness, and drug resistance. SOX2 interacts with other transcription factors in multiple signaling pathways to control growth and survival. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of a parturient’s age, umbilical cord blood pH and length of pregnancy on the quality of stem cells derived from Wharton’s jelly (WJSC) by looking at birth weight and using SOX2 gene expression as a marker. Using qPCR the authors, evaluated the expression of SOX2 in WJSC acquired from the umbilical cords of 30 women right after the delivery. The results showed a significant correlation between the birth weight and the expression of SOX2 in WJSC in relation to maternal age, umbilical cord blood pH, and the length of pregnancy. The authors observed that the younger the woman and the lower the umbilical cord blood pH, the earlier the delivery occurs, the lower the birth weight and the higher SOX2 gene expression in WJSC. In research studies and clinical applications of regenerative medicine utilizing mesenchymal stem cells derived from Wharton’s Jelly of the umbilical cord, assessment of maternal and embryonic factors influencing the quality of cells is critical.

Increased Expression of BIRC2, BIRC3, and BIRC5 from the IAP Family in Mesenchymal Stem Cells of the Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly (WJSC) in Younger Women Giving Birth Naturally

The knowledge of factors affecting the viability as well as proliferation and therapeutic potential of perinatal stem cells is of great importance for the decisions concerning their collection, multiplication, and storing. The aim of this work is to evaluate the expression of the BIRC2, BIRC3, and BIRC5 genes at the level of transcription in mesenchymal stem cells derived from the umbilical cord Wharton's jelly. The study examined the relationship between the expression level of the studied genes and selected biophysical parameters of umbilical blood: pH, pCO₂, pO₂, and cHCO₃. Moreover, the relationship between the pregnant age, the type of delivery (natural delivery or cesarean section), and the level of expression of the BIRC2, BIRC3, and BIRC5 genes was assessed. The research was carried out on mesenchymal stem cells derived from the umbilical cord Wharton's jelly (WJSC) taken from 55 women immediately after delivery. Expression of the examined genes was assessed with the qPCR method using commercially available reagent kits. On the basis of the conducted research, it was demonstrated that WJSCs collected from younger women giving birth naturally, and in the acidic environment of the umbilical cord blood, are characterized by a higher expression of the BIRC2, BIRC3, and BIRC5 genes. It was shown that the expression of the BIRC2 and BIRC3 genes in Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells declines with the mother's age. Our research suggests that stem cells collected from younger women giving birth naturally can be more resistant to apoptosis and show a more stem cell-like character, which can increase their therapeutic potential and clinical utility, but this conclusion needs to be approved in the next studies.

Influence of the Type of Delivery, Use of Oxytocin, and Maternal Age on POU5F1 Gene Expression in Stem Cells Derived from Wharton's Jelly within the Umbilical Cord

The paper presents an evaluation of the POU5F1 gene expression in mesenchymal stem cells derived from Wharton's jelly within the umbilical cord, collected from 36 patients during labor. The study is the first one to show that the expression of POU5F1 in mesenchymal stem cells has been dependent on maternal age, birth order, route of delivery, and use of oxytocin. Our research proves that the POU5F1 gene expression in mesenchymal stem cells decreases with each subsequent pregnancy and delivery. Wharton's jelly stem cells obtained from younger women and during their first delivery, as well as patients treated with oxytocin, show higher POU5F1 gene expression when compared with the subsequent deliveries. This leads to a conclusion that they are characterized by a lower level of differentiation, which in turn results in their greater plasticity and greater proliferative potential. Probably, they are also clinically more useful.

Potential Effect of SOX2 on the Cell Cycle of Wharton's Jelly Stem Cells (WJSCs)

The connective tissue of the umbilical cord contains stem cells called Wharton's jelly cells. These cells express core transcription factors (NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2). The protein product of the SOX2 gene controls the cell cycle by interacting with cyclin D (directly and indirectly) and cycle inhibitors—p21 and p27, as well as two E2f3 protein isoforms. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of SOX2 on the cell cycle of stem cells of Wharton's jelly. The material for the study was the stem cells of Wharton's jelly isolated from 20 umbilical cords collected during childbirth. The stem cells collected were subjected to cytometric analysis, cell culture, and RNA isolation. cDNA was the starting material for the analysis of gene expression: SOX2, CCND1, CDK4, and CDKN1B. The studies indicate a high proliferative potential of the Wharton's jelly stem cells and the inhibitory effect of SOX2 on the expression of the CCND1 and CDK4 gene.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase activity of Wharton jelly mesenchymal stromal cells: isolation and characterization

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are promising tools in regenerative medicine and targeted therapies. Although different origins have been described, there is still huge need to find a valuable source harboring specific subpopulations of MSCs with precise therapeutic functions. Here, we isolated by fluorescence activated cell sorting technique, two populations of Wharton's jelly (WJ)-MSCs based on their aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. Two different ALDH activities (low vs. high) were thus observed. We then analyzed their gene expression profile for stemness, phenotype, response to hypoxia, angiogenesis, hematopoietic support, immunomodulation and multilineage differentiation abilities (osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and chondrogenesis). According to ALDH activity, many differences in the mRNA expression of these populations were noticed. In conclusion, we provide evidences that WJ harbors two distinct populations of MSCs with different ALDH activity. These populations seem to display specific functional competences that may be interesting for concise therapeutic applications.

Potential Involvement of BIRC5 in Maintaining Pluripotency and Cell Differentiation of Human Stem Cells

The BIRC5 gene encodes a survivin protein belonging to class III of inhibitors of apoptosis, IAP. This protein serves a dual role. First, it regulates cell death, and second, it is an important regulator of mitosis progression, although its physiological regulatory function has not been fully understood. Many studies have shown and confirmed that survivin is practically absent in mature tissues in nature, while its overexpression has been reported in many cancerous tissues. There is little information about the significance of BIRC5 expression in normal adult human stem cells. This paper presents the study and analysis of survivin expression at the transcription level using qPCR method, in hematopoietic stem cells from peripheral blood mobilized with a granulocyte growth factor, adherent cells derived from the umbilical cord, and normal bone marrow stem cells. The expression of this gene was also examined in the blood of normal healthy individuals. The results of the analysis have shown that the more mature the cells are, the lower the expression of the BIRC5 gene is. The lowest expression has been found in peripheral blood cells, while the highest in normal bone marrow cells. The more the CD34+ and CD105 cells in the tested material are, the higher the BIRC5 expression is. Stem cells from cell culture show higher BIRC5 expression. The study confirms the involvement of BIRC5 from the IAP family in many physiological processes apart from apoptosis inhibition. The possible effect of BIRC5 on cell proliferation; involvement in cell cycle, cell differentiation, survival, and maintenance of stem cells; and the possible effect of IAP on the antineoplastic properties of mesenchymal stem cells have been demonstrated. Our research suggests that BIRC5 may be responsible for the condition of stem cell pluripotency and its high expression may also be responsible for the dedifferentiation of tumor cells.

Variations in Umbilical Cord Hematopoietic and Mesenchymal Stem Cells With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Objective: To test the hypothesis that umbilical cord blood-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HPSC), cord tissue-derived CD90+ and CD105+ mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) vary with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study at a large birth center (Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, IL). Premature infants (N = 200) were enrolled in 2:1:1 ratio based on gestational age (GA): mildly preterm (31-32 weeks), moderately preterm (29-30 weeks), and extremely preterm (23-28 weeks). Cord blood (CB) and cord tissues (CT) were collected at birth using commercial banking kits, and analyzed for collection blood volume, tissue mass, CD34+, CD90+, CD105+ counts, and concentrations. Multiplex immunoassay was used to measure 12 cytokines and growth factors in CB plasma of 74 patients. BPD severity was defined according to NIH consensus definitions. Univariate and multivariate regression models were used to identify perinatal covariates and assess associations between stem cell concentrations, cytokines, and BPD outcomes. Results: Of 200 patients enrolled (mean GA = 30 ± 2 weeks), 30 developed mild, 24 moderate, and 19 severe BPD. Concentrations of HPSC and MSC, as measured by %CD34+, %CD90+, and %CD105+ of total cells, increased with degree of prematurity. Collection parameters varied with GA, birth weight (BW), gender, prolonged rupture of membranes, mode of delivery, chorioamnionitis, and multiple gestation. Moderate-severe BPD or death was increased with lower GA, BW, Apgar scores, and documented delayed cord clamping. %CD34+ and %CD90+ were increased with BPD and directly correlated with BPD severity. Severe BPD was positively associated with %CD34+ (beta-coefficient = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.4-1.5; P < 0.01) and %CD90+ (beta-coefficient = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2-0.6; P < 0.001) after adjustment for covariates. CB plasma granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was inversely associated with %CD90+, and decreased with BPD. Below median G-CSF combined with elevated %CD90+ predicted BPD (positive predictive value = 100%). Conclusions: CB and CT collections yielded high concentrations of HPSCs and MSCs in BPD infants, accompanied by low circulating G-CSF. These variations suggest possible mechanisms by which stem cell differentiation and function predict BPD.