Co‑culturing with hypoxia pre‑conditioned mesenchymal stem cells as a new strategy for the prevention of irradiation‑induced fibroblast‑to‑myofibroblast transition

Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Enhanced Therapeutic Effects of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Administration in a Mouse Model of Lupus Nephritis

Background

Lupus nephritis is a life-threatening complication in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the efficiency of current therapies involving corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and biological agents is limited. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) are gaining attention as a novel treatment for inflammation in SLE. Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) exhibits multiple functions including anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and cell function-promoting effects. LMWH stimulation is expected to increase the therapeutic effect of ASCs by promoting cellular functions. In this study, we investigated the effects of LMWH on ASC functions and the therapeutic effect of LMWH-activated human-ASCs (hep-hASCs) in an SLE mouse model.

Methods

The cellular functions of human-derived ASCs stimulated with different LMWH concentrations were observed, and the optimum LMWH dose was selected. The mice were assigned to control, human-ASC, and hep-hASC groups; treatments were performed on week 20. Twenty-six week-old mice were sacrificed, and urine protein score, serum blood urea nitrogen, creatinine (Cr), anti-ds DNA IgG antibody, and serum IL-6 levels were analyzed in each group. Mice kidneys were evaluated via histological examination, immunohistochemical staining, and gene expression levels.

Results

LMWH significantly promoted ASC migration and proliferation and hepatocyte growth factor production and upregulated immunomodulatory factors in vitro. Hep-hASC administration resulted in significant disease activity improvement including proteinuria, serum Cr and IL-6 levels, anti-ds DNA IgG antibody, glomerulonephritis, and immune complex in mice. Inflammation and fibrosis in kidneys was significantly suppressed in the hep-hASC group; the gene expression levels of TNF-alpha, TIMP-2, and MMP-2 was significantly downregulated in the hep-hASC group compared with the control group.

Conclusions

Hep-hASC exhibited higher anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects than hASCs and may be a candidate tool for SLE treatment in future.

Exosomal LncRNA-NEAT1 derived from MIF-treated mesenchymal stem cells protected against doxorubicin-induced cardiac senescence through sponging miR-221-3p

Background

The chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (Dox) is widely used for treating a variety of cancers. However, its high cardiotoxicity hampered its clinical use. Exosomes derived from stem cells showed a therapeutic effect against Dox-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC). Previous studies reported that exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) pretreated with macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) (exosome^MIF) showed a cardioprotective effect through modulating long noncoding RNAs/microRNAs (lncRNAs/miRs). This study aimed to investigate the role of exosome^MIF in the treatment of DIC.

Results

Exosomes were isolated from control MSCs (exosome) and MIF-pretreated MSCs (exosome^MIF). Regulatory lncRNAs activated by MIF pretreatment were explored using genomics approaches. Fluorescence-labeled exosomes were tracked in vitro by fluorescence imaging. In vivo and in vitro, miR-221-3p mimic transfection enforced miR-221-3p overexpression, and senescence-associated β-galactosidase assay was applied to test cellular senescence. Exosomal delivering LncRNA-NEAT1 induced therapeutic effect in vivo was confirmed by echocardiography. It demonstrated that exosomes^MIF recovered the cardiac function and exerted the anti-senescent effect through LncRNA–NEAT1 transfer against Dox. TargetScan and luciferase assay showed that miR-221-3p targeted the Sirt2 3′-untranslated region. Silencing LncRNA–NEAT1 in MSCs, miR-221-3p overexpression or Sirt2 silencing in cardiomyocytes decreased the exosome^MIF-induced anti-senescent effect against Dox.

Conclusions

The results indicated exosome^MIF serving as a promising anti-senescent effector against Dox-induced cardiotoxicity through LncRNA–NEAT1 transfer, thus inhibiting miR-221-3p and leading to Sirt2 activation. The study proposed that exosome^MIF might have the potential to serve as a cardioprotective therapeutic agent during cancer chemotherapy.

Lung-resident mesenchymal stromal cells are tissue-specific regulators of lung homeostasis

Until recently, data supporting the tissue-resident status of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) has been ambiguous since their discovery in the 1950-60s. These progenitor cells were first discovered as bone marrow-derived adult multipotent cells and believed to migrate to sites of injury, opposing the notion that they are residents of all tissue types. In recent years, however, it has been demonstrated that MSC can be found in all tissues and MSC from different tissues represent distinct populations with differential protein expression unique to each tissue type. Importantly, these cells are efficient mediators of tissue repair, regeneration, and prove to be targets for therapeutics, demonstrated by clinical trials (phase 1-4) for MSC-derived therapies for diseases like graft-versus-host-disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn's disease. The tissue-resident status of MSC found in the lung is a key feature of their importance in the context of disease and injuries of the respiratory system, since these cells could be instrumental to providing more specific and targeted therapies. Currently, bone marrow-derived MSC have been established in the treatment of disease, including diseases of the lung. However, with lung-resident MSC representing a unique population with a different phenotypic and gene expression pattern than MSC derived from other tissues, their role in remediating lung inflammation and injury could provide enhanced efficacy over bone marrow-derived MSC methods. Through this review, lung-resident MSC will be characterized, using previously published data, by surface markers, gene expression patterns, and compared with bone-marrow MSC to highlight similarities and, importantly, differences in these cell types.

Efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are a kind of stem cell, possess an immune privileged nature, tumour homing features, and multi-lineage differentiation ability. MSCs have been studied in many fields, such as tissue engineering, nervous system diseases, and cancer treatment. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have focused on the effects of MSCs on various kinds of tumours. However, the concrete anticancer efficacy of MSCs is still controversial. Gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies are the major causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The interactions of MSCs and GI cancer cells in specific conditions have attracted increasing attention. In this review, we introduce the characteristics of MSCs and analyse the effects of MSCs on GI malignancies, including gastric cancer, hepatoma, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer. In addition, we also provide our perspectives on why MSCs may play different roles in GI malignancies and further research directions to increase the treatment efficacy of MSCs on GI malignancies.