ABSTRACT
Background: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells [BMMSCs] transplantation has been considered as a promising milestone in liver fibrosis treatment. However, low amounts of homing are a major obstacle. We aimed to investigate the role of melatonin pretreatment in BMMSC homing into experimental liver fibrosis
Methods: BMMSCs were obtained, grown, propagated and preconditioned with 5 µM melatonin and analyzed for multipotency and immunophenotypic features at passage three. The cells were labelled with CM-Dil and infused into the rats received the i.p. injection of carbon tetrachloride [CCl4] for five weeks to induce liver fibrosis. Animals were divided into two groups: One group received BMMSCs, whereas the other group received melatonin-pretreated BMMSCs [MT-BMMSCs]. After cell injection at 72 h, animals were sacrificed, and the liver tissues were assessed for further evaluations: fibrosis using Masson's trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin staining and homing using fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry
Results: BMMSCs and MT-BMMSCs expressed a high level of CD44 but low levels of CD11b, CD45 and CD34 [for all P
Conclusion: This study indicates the improved homing potential of BMMSCs in pretreatment with melatonin. Therefore, this strategy may represent an applied approach for improving the stem cell therapy of liver fibrosis
ABSTRACT
Multiple sclerosis [MS] is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system [CNS]. Stem cell transplantation is a new therapeutic approach for demyelinating diseases such as MS which may promote remyelination. In this study, we evaluate the remyelinating potential of adipose mesenchymal stem cells [ADSCs] and their effect on neural cell composition in the corpus callosum in an experimental model of MS. This experimental study used adult male C57BL/6 mice. Cultured ADSCs were confirmed to be CD73[+], CD90[+], CD31[-],CD45[-], and labeled by PKH26. Animals were fed with 0.2% w/w cuprizone added to ground breeder chow ad libitum for six weeks. At day 0 after cuprizone removal, mice were randomly divided into two groups: the ADSCs-transplanted group and the control vehicle group [received medium alone]. Some mice of the same age were fed with their normal diet to serve as healthy control group. Homing of ADSCs in demyelinated lesions was examined by fluorescent microscope. At ten days after transplantation, the mice were euthanized and their cells analyzed by luxol fast blue staining [LFB], transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. Results were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA]. According to fluorescent cell labeling, transplanted ADSCs appeared to survive and exhibited homing specificity. LFB staining and transmission electron microscope evaluation revealed enhanced remyelination in the transplanted group compared to the control vehicle group. Flow cytometry analysis showed an increase in Olig2 and O4 cells and a decrease in GFAP and Iba-1 cells in the transplanted group. Our results indicate that ADSCs may provide a feasible, practical way for remyelination in diseases such as MS