Encapsulation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs) in collagen type I containing platelet-rich plasma for osteoarthritis treatment in rat model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of degenerative joint disease, affecting more than 25% of the adults despite its prevalence in the elderly population. Most of the current therapeutic modalities aim at symptomatic treatment which lingers the disease progression. In recent years, regenerative medicine such as stem cell transplantation and tissue engineering has been suggested as a potential curative intervention for OA. The objective of this current study was to assess the safety and efficacy of an injectable tissue-engineered construct composed of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and collagen type I in rat model of OA. To produce collagen type I, PRP and rBMMSCs, male Wistar rats were ethically euthanized. After isolation, culture, expansion and characterization of rBMMSCs, tissue-engineered construct was formed by a combination of appropriate amount of collagen type I, PRP and rBMMSCs. In vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of PRP on chondrogenic differentiation capacity of encapsulated cells. In the following, the tissue-engineered construct was injected in knee joints of rat models of OA (24 rats in 4 groups: OA, OA + MSC, OA + collagen + MSC + PRP, OA + MSC + collagen). After 6 weeks, the animals were euthanized and knee joint histopathology examinations of knee joint samples were performed to evaluate the effect of each treatment on OA. Tissue-engineered construct was successfully manufactured and in vitro assays demonstrated the relevant chondrogenic genes and proteins expression were higher in PRP group than that of others. Histopathological findings of the knee joint samples showed favorable regenerative effect of rBMMSCs + PRP + collagen group compared to others. We introduced an injectable tissue-engineered product composed of rBMMSCs + PRP + collagen with potential regenerative effect on cartilage that has been damaged by OA.

Therapeutic effects of combination of platelet lysate and sulfasalazine administration in TNBS-induced colitis in rat.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and idiopathic disease with gastrointestinal dysfunction. Current therapeutic approaches in IBD have several limitations such as, harmful side effects and high price for biologic drugs. It sounds that finding of an effective, safe and inexpensive strategy to overcome IBD is critical. Platelet derivatives, as biological pool of wide range of growth factors and cytokines, are widely used in regenerative medicine for treatment of soft and hard tissue lesions. We sought to determine whether platelet lysate (PL) alone or in combination with sulfasalazine (reference drug) can be a valuable strategy for overcoming IBD. In the present study, we investigated and compared the daily and alternate-day administration of PL alone or combined with sulfasalazine for treating colitis in a rat model of IBD. Histological damage scores of TNBS-induced colitis were reduced by co-administration of every alternate day PL and sulfasalazine. Pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6 were decreased and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-ß were increased after treatment with PL compared to that in the TNBS group. Furthermore, combined treatment with PL and sulfasalazine decreased apoptosis and inhibited the NF-κB signaling pathway. In conclusion, the combined administration of PL with conventional IBD therapy is able to effectively ameliorate IBD through modulation of inflammatory status.

MicroRNA-4731-5p delivered by AD-mesenchymal stem cells induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) exhibits the most malignant brain tumor with very poor prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulatory factors that can downregulate the expression of multiple genes. Several miRNAs acting as tumor-suppressor genes have been identified so far. The delivery of miRNA by mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) due to their ability to specifically target tumors is a new, hopeful therapeutic approach for glioblastoma. The objective of our study is the investigation of the effect of lentivirus-mediated microRNA-4731 (miR-4731) genetic manipulated adipose-derived (AD)-MSC on GBM. The downregulation of miR-4731 in human GBM tumor was detected using the GEO dataset. To evaluate the function of miR-4731, we overexpressed miR-4731 using lentiviral vectors in U-87 and U-251 GBM cell lines. The effects of miR-4731 on cell proliferation and cell cycle of glioma cells were analyzed by wound test and flow-cytometry assay. miR-4731 inhibited the proliferation of GBM cancer cells. Coculturing was used to study the antiproliferative effect of miR-4731-AD-MSCs on GBM cell lines. Direct and indirect coculture of GBM cell lines with miR-4731-AD-MSCs induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our findings suggest that AD-MSCs expressing miR-4731 have favorable antitumor characteristics and should be further explored in future glioma therapy.

Combination therapy of mesenchymal stromal cells and sulfasalazine attenuates trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid induced colitis in the rat: The S1P pathway.

Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) transplantation is a novel immunomodulatory therapeutic tool to ameliorate the symptom of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of combined sufasalazine and ASCs therapy in a rat model of IBD. After induction of colitis in rats, ASCs were cultured and intraperitoneally injected (3 × 106 cells/kg) into the rats on Days 1 and 5 after inducing colitis, in conjunction with daily oral administration of low dose of sulfasalazine (30 mg/kg). The regenerative effects of combination of ASCs and sulfasalazine on ulcerative colitis were assessed by measuring body weight, colonic weight/length ratio, disease activity index, macroscopic scores, histopathological examinations, cytokine, and inflammation markers profiles. In addition, western blot analysis was used to assess the levels of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and apoptosis related proteins in colitis tissues. Simultaneous treatment with ASCs and sulfasalazine was associated with significant amelioration of disease activity index, macroscopic and microscopic colitis scores, as well as inhibition of the proinflammatory cytokines in trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis. Moreover, combined ASCs and sulfasalazine therapy effectively inhibited the NF-κB signaling pathway, reduced the expression of Bax and prevented the loss of Bcl-2 proteins in colon tissue of the rats with TNBS-induced colitis. Furthermore, combined treatment with ASCs and sulfasalazine shifted inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages by decreasing the levels of MCP1, CXCL9 and increasing IL-10, Arg-1 levels. In conclusion, combination of ASCs with conventional IBD therapy is potentially a much more powerful strategy to slow the progression of colitis via reducing inflammatory and apoptotic markers than either therapy alone.

The extracellular vesicles-derived from mesenchymal stromal cells: A new therapeutic option in regenerative medicine.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult multipotent cells that due to their ability to homing to damaged tissues and differentiate into specialized cells, are remarkable cells in the field of regenerative medicine. It's suggested that the predominant mechanism of MSCs in tissue repair might be related to their paracrine activity. The utilization of MSCs for tissue repair is initially based on the differentiation ability of these cells; however now it has been revealed that only a small fraction of the transplanted MSCs actually fuse and survive in host tissues. Indeed, MSCs supply the microenvironment with the secretion of soluble trophic factors, survival signals and the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as exosome. Also, the paracrine activity of EVs could mediate the cellular communication to induce cell-differentiation/self-renewal. Recent findings suggest that EVs released by MSCs may also be critical in the physiological function of these cells. This review provides an overview of MSC-derived extracellular vesicles as a hopeful opportunity to advance novel cell-free therapy strategies that might prevail over the obstacles and risks associated with the use of native or engineered stem cells. EVs are very stable; they can pass the biological barriers without rejection and can shuttle bioactive molecules from one cell to another, causing the exchange of genetic information and reprogramming of the recipient cells. Moreover, extracellular vesicles may provide therapeutic cargo for a wide range of diseases and cancer therapy.

Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Insulin Producing Cells by Using A Lentiviral Vector Carrying PDX1.

OBJECTIVE: Type I diabetes is an immunologically-mediated devastation of insulin producing cells (IPCs) in the pancreatic islet. Stem cells that produce ß-cells are a new promising tool. Adult stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are self renewing multi potent cells showing capabilities to differentiate into ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal tissues. Pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor 1 (PDX1) is a master regulator gene required for embryonic development of the pancreas and is crucial for normal pancreatic islets activities in adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We induced the over-expression of the PDX1 gene in human bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSCs) by Lenti-PDX1 in order to generate IPCs. Next, we examine the ability of the cells by measuring insulin/c-peptide production and INSULIN and PDX1 gene expressions. RESULTS: After transduction, MSCs changed their morphology at day 5 and gradually differentiated into IPCs. INSULIN and PDX1 expressions were confirmed by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunostaining. IPC secreted insulin and C-peptide in the media that contained different glucose concentrations. CONCLUSION: MSCs differentiated into IPCs by genetic manipulation. Our result showed that lentiviral vectors could deliver PDX1 gene to MSCs and induce pancreatic differentiation.

The Generation of Insulin Producing Cells from Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells by MiR-375 and Anti-MiR-9.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. A number of studies have led to the notion that some miRNAs have key roles in control of pancreatic islet development and insulin secretion. Based on some studies on miRNAs pattern, the researchers in this paper investigated the pancreatic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) by up-regulation of miR-375 and down-regulation of miR-9 by lentiviruses containing miR-375 and anti-miR-9. METHODOLOGY: After 21 days of induction, islet-like clusters containing insulin producing cells (IPCs) were confirmed by dithizone (DTZ) staining. The IPCs and ß cell specific related genes and proteins were detected using qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence on days 7, 14 and 21 of differentiation. Glucose challenge test was performed at different concentrations of glucose so extracellular and intracellular insulin and C-peptide were assayed using ELISA kit. Although derived IPCs by miR-375 alone were capable to express insulin and other endocrine specific transcription factors, the cells lacked the machinery to respond to glucose. CONCLUSION: It was found that over-expression of miR-375 led to a reduction in levels of Mtpn protein in derived IPCs, while treatment with anti-miR-9 following miR-375 over-expression had synergistic effects on MSCs differentiation and insulin secretion in a glucose-regulated manner. The researchers reported that silencing of miR-9 increased OC-2 protein in IPCs that may contribute to the observed glucose-regulated insulin secretion. Although the roles of miR-375 and miR-9 are well known in pancreatic development and insulin secretion, the use of these miRNAs in transdifferentiation was never demonstrated. These findings highlight miRNAs functions in stem cells differentiation and suggest that they could be used as therapeutic tools for gene-based therapy in diabetes mellitus.

Generation of high-yield insulin producing cells from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Allogenic islet transplantation is a most efficient approach for treatment of diabetes mellitus. However, the scarcity of islets and long term need for an immunosuppressant limits its application. Recently, cell replacement therapies that generate of unlimited sources of ß cells have been developed to overcome these limitations. In this study we have described a stage specific differentiation protocol for the generation of insulin producing islet-like clusters from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). This specific stepwise protocol induced differentiation of hMSCs into definitive endoderm, pancreatic endoderm and pancreatic endocrine cells that expressed of sox17, foxa2, pdx1, ngn3, nkx2.2, insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide, and glut2 transcripts respectively. In addition, immunocytochemical analysis confirmed protein expression of the above mentioned genes. Western blot analysis discriminated insulin from proinsulin in the final differentiated cells. In derived insulin producing cells (IPCs), secreted insulin and C-peptide was in a glucose dependent manner. We have developed a protocol that generates effective high-yield human IPCs from hBM-MSCs in vitro. These finding suggest that functional IPCs generated by this procedure can be used as a cell-based approach for insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.