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Zhao X, Li Q, Guo Z, Li Z. Constructing a cell microenvironment with biomaterial scaffolds for stem cell therapy. Stem Cell Res Ther 2021; 12:583. [PMID: 34809719 PMCID: PMC8607654 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-021-02650-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Stem cell therapy is widely recognized as a promising strategy for exerting therapeutic effects after injury in degenerative diseases. However, limitations such as low cell retention and survival rates after transplantation exist in clinical applications. In recent years, emerging biomaterials that provide a supportable cellular microenvironment for transplanted cells have optimized the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in injured tissues or organs. Advances in the engineered microenvironment are revolutionizing our understanding of stem cell-based therapies by co-transplanting with synthetic and tissue-derived biomaterials, which offer a scaffold for stem cells and propose an unprecedented opportunity to further employ significant influences in tissue repair and regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotong Zhao
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China.,Department of Cardiology, Zhengzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Qiong Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China
| | - Zhikun Guo
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China. .,Department of Cardiology, Zhengzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
| | - Zongjin Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, 453003, Henan, China. .,Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300071, China.
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Zhang K, Chen X, Li H, Feng G, Nie Y, Wei Y, Li N, Han Z, Han ZC, Kong D, Guo Z, Zhao Q, Li Z. A nitric oxide-releasing hydrogel for enhancing the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell therapy for hindlimb ischemia. Acta Biomater 2020; 113:289-304. [PMID: 32663662 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic angiogenesis with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is promising for the clinical treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, the heterogeneous proangiogenic nature of MSCs is a key challenge in developing more effective treatments with MSCs for therapeutic angiogenesis purposes. Here, we propose to enhance the therapeutic function of human placenta-derived MSCs (hP-MSCs) in hindlimb ischemia therapy by using nitric oxide (NO)-releasing chitosan hydrogel (CS-NO). Our data showed that the co-transplantation of CS-NO hydrogel with hP-MSCs remarkably improved the grafting of hP-MSCs and ameliorated the functional recovery of ischemic hindlimbs. Moreover, we found that the neovascularization of damaged hindlimbs was significantly increased after co-transplanting CS-NO hydrogel and hP-MSCs, as confirmed by bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Further analysis revealed an endothelial-like status transformation of hP-MSCs in the presence of NO, which was identified as a potential mechanism contributing to the enhanced endothelium-protective and proangiogenic capacities of hP-MSCs that promote angiogenesis in mouse models of hindlimb ischemia. In conclusion, this study provides a promising approach for using NO hydrogel to improve the proangiogenic potency of MSCs in ischemic diseases, and the strategy used here facilitates the development of controlled-release scaffolds for enhancing the therapeutic efficiency of MSCs in angiogenic therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The heterogeneous proangiogenic nature of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a key challenge in developing more effective treatments with MSCs for therapeutic angiogenesis purposes. In this study, we investigated whether nitric oxide (NO)-releasing chitosan hydrogel (CS-NO) could improve the proangiogenic potency of MSCs in ischemic diseases. Our results revealed an endothelial-like status transformation of human placenta-derived MSCs (hP-MSCs) in the presence of NO, which was identified as a potential mechanism contributing to the enhanced endothelium-protective and proangiogenic capacities of hP-MSCs that promote angiogenesis in mouse models of hindlimb ischemia. The strategy for enhancing the pro-angiogenic activity of MSCs with biomaterials provides a practical idea for overcoming the challenges associated with the clinical application of MSCs in therapeutic angiogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiyue Zhang
- Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, the College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Xiaoniao Chen
- Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China; State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Huifang Li
- Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China
| | - Guowei Feng
- Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China
| | - Yan Nie
- Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China
| | - Yongzhen Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, the College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Nana Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, China
| | - Zhibo Han
- Jiangxi Engineering Research Center for Stem Cell, Shangrao, Jiangxi, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Engineering Technologies for Cell Pharmaceutical, National Engineering Research Center of Cell Products, AmCellGene Co., Ltd., Tianjin, China; Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Perinatal Stem Cells, Beijing Institute of Health and Stem Cells, Health & Biotech Co., Beijing, China
| | - Zhong-Chao Han
- Jiangxi Engineering Research Center for Stem Cell, Shangrao, Jiangxi, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Engineering Technologies for Cell Pharmaceutical, National Engineering Research Center of Cell Products, AmCellGene Co., Ltd., Tianjin, China; Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Perinatal Stem Cells, Beijing Institute of Health and Stem Cells, Health & Biotech Co., Beijing, China
| | - Deling Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, the College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhikun Guo
- Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, China.
| | - Qiang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, the College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China.
| | - Zongjin Li
- Nankai University School of Medicine, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin, China; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, the College of Life Sciences, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China; State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, 601 Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, China.
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Nie Y, Zhang K, Zhang S, Wang D, Han Z, Che Y, Kong D, Zhao Q, Han Z, He ZX, Liu N, Ma F, Li Z. Nitric oxide releasing hydrogel promotes endothelial differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Acta Biomater 2017; 63:190-199. [PMID: 28859902 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Transplantation of endothelial cells (ECs) holds great promise for treating various kinds of ischemic diseases. However, the major challenge in ECs-based therapy in clinical applications is to provide high quality and enough amounts of cells. In this study, we developed a simple and efficient system to direct endothelial differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) using a controllable chitosan nitric oxide (NO)-releasing hydrogel (CS-NO). ESCs were plated onto the hydrogel culture system, and the expressions of differentiation markers were measured. We found that the expression of Flk-1 (early ECs marker) and VE-cadherin (mature ECs marker) increased obviously under the controlled NO releasing environment. Moreover, the Flk-1 upregulation was accompanied by the activation of the phospho-inositide-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling. We also found that in the presence of the PI3K inhibitor (LY294002), the endothelial commitment of ESCs was abolished, indicating the importance of Akt phosphorylation in the endothelial differentiation of ESCs. Interestingly, in the absence of NO, the activation of Akt phosphorylation alone by using AKT activator (SC-79) did not profoundly promote the endothelial differentiation of ESCs, suggesting an interdependent relationship between NO and the Akt phosphorylation in driving endothelial fate specification of ESCs. Taken together, we demonstrated that NO releasing in a continuous and controlled manner is a simple and efficient method for directing the endothelial differentiation of ESCs without adding growth factors. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Fascinating data continues to show that artificial stem cell niche not only serve as a physical supporting scaffold for stem cells proliferation, but also as a novel platform for directing stem cell differentiation. Because of the lack of proper microenvironment for generating therapeutic endothelial cells (ECs) in vitro, the source of ECs for transplantation is the major limitation in ECs-based therapy to clinical applications. The current study established a feeder cell-free, 2-dimensional culture system for promoting the differentiation processes of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) committed to the endothelial lineage via using a nitric oxide (NO) controlled releasing hydrogel (CS-NO). Notably, the NO releasing from the hydrogel could selectively up-regulate Flk-1 (early ECs marker) and VE-cadherin (mature ECs marker) in the absence of growth factors, which was of crucial importance in the endothelial differentiation of ESCs. In summary, the current study proposes a simple and efficient method for directing the endothelial differentiation of ESCs without extra growth factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Nie
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, The College of Life Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Kaiyue Zhang
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | | | - Dan Wang
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhibo Han
- Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Perinatal Stem Cells, Beijing Institute of Health and Stem Cells, Health & Biotech Co., Beijing, China
| | - Yongzhe Che
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Deling Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, The College of Life Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Qiang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, The College of Life Science, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhongchao Han
- Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Perinatal Stem Cells, Beijing Institute of Health and Stem Cells, Health & Biotech Co., Beijing, China
| | - Zuo-Xiang He
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fu Wai Hospital, National Center of Cardiovascular Disease, Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Na Liu
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China.
| | - Fengxia Ma
- State Key Lab of Experimental Hematology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China.
| | - Zongjin Li
- Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin, China; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, Nankai University, The College of Life Science, Tianjin, China.
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