A Comparative Analysis of Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells derived from Different Sources, with a Focus on Neuroregenerative Potential

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can be considered an accessible therapeutic tool for regenerative medicine. Here, we compared the growth kinetics, immunophenotypic and immunomodulatory properties, gene expression and secretome profile of MSCs derived from human adult bone marrow (BM-MSCs), adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) and Wharton’s jelly (WJ-MSCs) cultured in clinically-relevant conditions, with the focus on the neuroregenerative potential. All the cell types were positive for CD10/CD29/CD44/CD73/CD90/CD105/HLA-ABC and negative for CD14/CD45/CD235a/CD271/HLA-DR/VEGFR2 markers, but they differed in the expression of CD34/CD133/CD146/SSEA-4/MSCA-1/CD271/HLA-DR markers. BM-MSCs displayed the highest immunomodulatory activity compared to AT- and WJ-MSCs. On the other hand, BM-MSCs secreted the lower content and had the lower gene expression of neurotrophic growth factors compared to other cell lines, which may be caused by the higher sensitivity of BM-MSCs to nutrient limitations. Despite the differences in growth factor secretion, the MSC secretome derived from all cell sources had a pronounced neurotrophic potential to stimulate the neurite outgrowth of DRG-neurons and reduce the cell death of neural stem/progenitor cells after H₂O₂ treatment. Overall, our study provides important information for the transfer of basic MSC research towards clinical-grade manufacturing and therapeutic applications.

A Comparative Study of the Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells for Ocular Surface Reconstruction

Stem cell-based therapy has become an attractive and promising approach for the treatment of severe injuries or thus-far incurable diseases. However, the use of stem cells is often limited by a shortage of available tissue-specific stem cells; therefore, other sources of stem cells are being investigated and tested. In this respect, mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have proven to be a promising stem cell type. In the present study, we prepared MSCs from bone marrow (BM-MSCs) or adipose tissue (Ad-MSCs) as well as limbal epithelial stem cells (LSCs), and their growth, differentiation, and secretory properties were compared. The cells were grown on nanofiber scaffolds and transferred onto the alkali-injured eye in a rabbit model, and their therapeutic potential was characterized. We found that BM-MSCs and tissue-specific LSCs had similar therapeutic effects. Clinical characterization of the healing process, as well as the evaluation of corneal thickness, re-epithelialization, neovascularization, and the suppression of a local inflammatory reaction, were comparable in the BM-MSC- and LSC-treated eyes, but results were significantly better than in injured, untreated eyes or in eyes treated with a nanofiber scaffold alone or with a nanofiber scaffold seeded with Ad-MSCs. Taken together, the results show that BM-MSCs' therapeutic effect on healing of injured corneal surface is comparable to that of tissue-specific LSCs. We suggest that BM-MSCs can be used for ocular surface regeneration in cases when autologous LSCs are absent or difficult to obtain.

SIGNIFICANCE

Damage of ocular surface represents one of the most common causes of impaired vision or even blindness. Cell therapy, based on transplantation of stem cells, is an optimal treatment. However, if limbal stem cells (LSCs) are not available, other sources of stem cells are tested. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a convenient type of cell for stem cell therapy. The therapeutic potential of LSCs and MSCs was compared in an experimental model of corneal injury, and healing was observed following chemical injury. MSCs and tissue-specific LSCs had similar therapeutic effects. The results suggest that bone marrow-derived MSCs can be used for ocular surface regeneration in cases when autologous LSCs are absent or difficult to obtain.

The key role of insulin-like growth factor I in limbal stem cell differentiation and the corneal wound-healing process

Limbal stem cells (LSC), which reside in the basal layer of the limbus, are thought to be responsible for corneal epithelial healing after injury. When the cornea is damaged, LSC start to proliferate, differentiate, and migrate to the site of injury. To characterize the signaling molecules ensuring communication between the cornea and LSC, we established a mouse model of mechanical corneal damage. The central cornea or limbal tissue was excised at different time intervals after injury, and the expression of genes in the explants was determined. It was observed that a number of genes for growth and differentiation factors were significantly upregulated in the cornea rapidly after injury. The ability of these factors to regulate the differentiation and proliferation of limbal cells was tested. It was found that the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), which is rapidly overexpressed after injury, enhances the expression of IGF receptor in limbal cells and induces the differentiation of LSC into cells expressing the corneal cell marker, cytokeratin K12, without any effect on limbal cell proliferation. In contrast, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor-β (FGF-β), which are also produced by the damaged corneal epithelium, supported limbal cell proliferation without any effect on their differentiation. Other factors did not affect limbal cell differentiation or proliferation. Thus, IGF-I was identified as the main factor stimulating the expression of IGF receptors in limbal cells and inducing the differentiation of LSC into cells expressing corneal epithelial cell markers. The proliferation of these cells was supported by EGF and FGF.

Rare and new etiological agents revealed among 178 clinical Aspergillus strains obtained from Czech patients and characterized by molecular sequencing

A collection of 178 Aspergillus isolates, recovered from Czech patients, mostly from 2007-2011, was subjected to multilocus DNA sequence typing using the ITS region, β-tubulin, and calmodulin genes. An unusually wide spectrum of etiologic agents that included 36 species of Aspergillus is discussed in the context of recent taxonomic and clinical reports. Invasive aspergillosis (IA), onychomycosis, and otitis externa were the predominant clinical entities. Five cases due to species newly proven as etiologic agents of human mycoses, as well as cases with unique clinical manifestations caused by unusual agents are discussed in more detail. Three species (i.e., A. insulicola, A. westerdijkiae and A. tritici) were identified as the confirmed etiologic agents of non-dermatophytic onychomycosis. Emericella rugulosa was recovered from a premature newborn with a fatal necrotising disseminated infection and is reported for only the second time as the cause of IA. Furthermore, we document the first infection due to A. calidoustus in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease. The infection manifested as a latent brain aspergilloma with an unusual clinical-laboratory finding. In addition to the well-known agents of human mycosis, several rarely isolated or poorly documented species were identified. An undescribed cryptic species related to A. versicolor was found to be common among isolates linked to proven and probable onychomycosis. An isolate representing A. fresenii, or an unnamed sister species, were causal agents of otomycosis. Three well defined, and tentative new species belonging to section Cervini, Candidi and Aspergillus (Eurotium spp.), were associated with cases of probable onychomycosis.

Cyclosporine A-loaded and stem cell-seeded electrospun nanofibers for cell-based therapy and local immunosuppression

Cyclosporine A (CsA), a potent immunosuppressive drug with low water solubility, was dissolved in poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) solution, and nanofibers were fabricated from this mixture by electrospinning technology. The addition of CsA into the PLA solution and the conditions of the electrospinning process did not influence the structure of the nanofibers nor affect the pharmacological activity of CsA. Study of the CsA release behavior in culture medium showed a release for at least 96 h. After the topical application of CsA-loaded nanofibers on skin allografts in vivo, the release was significantly slower and about 35% of the drug was still retained in the nanofibers on day 8. The addition of CsA-loaded nanofibers into cultures of mouse spleen cells stimulated with Concanavalin A selectively inhibited T cell functions; the activity of stimulated macrophages or the growth of non-T-cell populations was not suppressed in the presence of CsA-loaded nanofibers. The covering of skin allografts with CsA-loaded nanofibers significantly attenuated the local production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ and IL-17. These results suggest that CsA-loaded electrospun nanofibers can serve as effective drug carriers for the local/topical suppression of an inflammatory reaction and simultaneously could be used as scaffolds for cell-based therapy.

Distinct cytokines balance the development of regulatory T cells and interleukin-10-producing regulatory B cells

Regulatory T cells have been well described and the factors regulating their development and function have been identified. Recently, a growing body of evidence has documented the existence of interleukin-10 (IL-10) -producing B cells, which are called regulatory B10 cells. These cells attenuate autoimmune, inflammatory and transplantation reactions, and the main mechanism of their inhibitory action is the production of IL-10. We show that the production of IL-10 by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated B cells is significantly enhanced by IL-12 and interferon-γ and negatively regulated by IL-21 and transforming growth factor-β. In addition, exogenous IL-10 also inhibits B-cell proliferation and the expression of the IL-10 gene in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated B cells. The negative autoregulation of IL-10 production is supported by the observation that the inclusion of anti-IL-10 receptor monoclonal antibody enhances IL-10 production and the proliferation of activated B cells. The effects of cytokines on IL-10 production by B10 cells did not correlate with their effects on B-cell proliferation or on IL-10 production by T cells or macrophages. The cytokine-induced changes in IL-10 production occurred on the level of IL-10 gene expression, as confirmed by increased or decreased IL-10 mRNA expression in the presence of a particular cytokine. The regulatory cytokines modulate the number of IL-10-producing cells rather than augmenting or decreasing the secretion of IL-10 on a single-cell level. Altogether these data show that the production of IL-10 by B cells is under the strict regulatory control of cytokines and that individual cytokines differentially regulate the development and activity of regulatory T cells and IL-10-producing regulatory B cells.