The Effect of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived From Endometriotic Lesions on Natural Killer Cell Function

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that presents with ectopic endometriotic lesions. Reduced immunosurveillance of these lesions has been proposed to be playing a role in the pathology of endometriosis. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are found in ectopic lesions and may decrease immunosurveillance. In the present study, we examined if MSC contribute to reduced immunosurveillance through their immunosuppressive effects on natural killer (NK) cells. Stromal cells from endometriotic ovarian cysts (ESC_cyst) and eutopic endometrium (ESC_endo) of women with endometriosis and their conditioned medium were used in co-cultures with allogeneic peripheral blood NK cells. Following culture, NK cells were examined phenotypically for their expression of activating, inhibitory, maturation, and adhesion receptors and co-receptors, as well as the degranulation (CD107a) marker and the immunostimulatory (interferon-γ) and immunosuppressive (transforming growth factor beta 1 and interleukin-10) cytokines. Moreover, NK cell cytotoxicity was examined using chromium 51 release killing assays. There were no differences between ESC_cyst and ESC_endo regarding their effects on NK cell cytotoxicity in both conditioned medium and direct co-culture experiments. Additionally, there were no differences between ESC_cyst and ESC_endo regarding their impact on NK cells’ phenotype and degranulation in both conditioned medium and direct co-culture experiments. Although there were no differences found for DNAX accessory molecule-1 (DNAM-1) and NKp44, we found that the expression of the NK cell ligand CD155 that binds DNAM-1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) that binds NKp44 was significantly less on ESC_cyst than on ESC_endo. These findings were not supported by the results that the expression of the known and unknown ligands on ESC_cyst for DNAM-1 and NKp44 using chimeric proteins was not significantly different compared to ESC_endo. In conclusion, the results suggest that ectopic MSC may not contribute to reduced immunosurveillance in endometriosis through their inhibitory effects on NK cells. This suggests that NK cell inhibition in the pelvic cavity of women with endometriosis develops due to other factors.

In Vitro Study of Human Immune Responses to Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels, Recombinant Spidroins and Human Neural Progenitor Cells of Relevance to Spinal Cord Injury Repair

Scaffolds of recombinant spider silk protein (spidroin) and hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel hold promise in combination with cell therapy for spinal cord injury. However, little is known concerning the human immune response to these biomaterials and grafted human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNPCs). Here, we analyzed short- and long-term in vitro activation of immune cells in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) cultured with/without recombinant spidroins, HA hydrogels, and/or allogeneic hNPCs to assess potential host-donor interactions. Viability, proliferation and phenotype of hPBMCs were analyzed using NucleoCounter and flow cytometry. hPBMC viability was confirmed after exposure to the different biomaterials. Short-term (15 h) co-cultures of hPBMCs with spidroins, but not with HA hydrogel, resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of activated CD69+ CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells and NK cells, which likely was caused by residual endotoxins from the Escherichia coli expression system. The observed spidroin-induced hPBMC activation was not altered by hNPCs. It is resource-effective to evaluate human compatibility of novel biomaterials early in development of the production process to, when necessary, make alterations to minimize rejection risk. Here, we present a method to evaluate biomaterials and hPBMC compatibility in conjunction with allogeneic human cells.

Human ex vivo spinal cord slice culture as a useful model of neural development, lesion, and allogeneic neural cell therapy

Background

There are multiple promising treatment strategies for central nervous system trauma and disease. However, to develop clinically potent and safe treatments, models of human-specific conditions are needed to complement in vitro and in vivo animal model-based studies.

Methods

We established human brain stem and spinal cord (cross- and longitudinal sections) organotypic cultures (hOCs) from first trimester tissues after informed consent by donor and ethical approval by the Regional Human Ethics Committee, Stockholm (lately referred to as Swedish Ethical Review Authority), and The National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden. We evaluated the stability of hOCs with a semi-quantitative hOC score, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, Ca²⁺ signaling, and electrophysiological analysis. We also applied experimental allogeneic human neural cell therapy after injury in the ex vivo spinal cord slices.

Results

The spinal cord hOCs presented relatively stable features during 7–21 days in vitro (DIV) (except a slightly increased cell proliferation and activated glial response). After contusion injury performed at 7 DIV, a significant reduction of the hOC score, increase of the activated caspase-3⁺ cell population, and activated microglial populations at 14 days postinjury compared to sham controls were observed. Such elevation in the activated caspase-3⁺ population and activated microglial population was not observed after allogeneic human neural cell therapy.

Conclusions

We conclude that human spinal cord slice cultures have potential for future structural and functional studies of human spinal cord development, injury, and treatment strategies.

Prenatal stem cell therapy for inherited diseases: Past, present, and future treatment strategies

Imagine the profits in quality of life that can be made by treating inherited diseases early in life, maybe even before birth! Immense cost savings can also be made by treating diseases promptly. Hence, prenatal stem cell therapy holds great promise for developing new and early‐stage treatment strategies for several diseases. Successful prenatal stem cell therapy would represent a major step forward in the management of patients with hematological, metabolic, or immunological disorders. However, treatment before birth has several limitations, including ethical issues. In this review, we summarize the past, the present, and the future of prenatal stem cell therapy, which includes an overview of different stem cell types, preclinical studies, and clinical attempts treating various diseases. We also discuss the current challenges and future strategies for prenatal stem cell therapy and also new approaches, which may lead to advancement in the management of patients with severe incurable diseases.