Cryopreservation of canine cardiosphere-derived cells: Implications for clinical application.

The clinical application of cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) to treat cardiac disease has gained increasing interest over the past decade. Recent clinical trials confirm their regenerative capabilities, although much remains to be elucidated about their basic biology. To develop this new treatment modality, in a cost effective and standardized workflow, necessitates the creation of cryopreserved cell lines to facilitate access for cardiac patients requiring urgent therapy. Cryopreservation may however lead to alterations in cell behavior and potency. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cryopreservation on canine CDCs. CDCs and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from five dogs were characterized. CDCs demonstrated a population doubling time that was unchanged by cryopreservation (fresh vs. cryopreserved; 57.13 ± 5.27 h vs. 48.94 ± 9.55 h, P = 0.71). This was slower than for MSCs (30.46 h, P < 0.05). The ability to form clones, self-renew, and commit to multiple lineages was unaffected by cryopreservation. Cryopreserved CDCs formed larger cardiospheres compared to fresh cells (P < 0.0001). Fresh CDCs showed a high proportion of CD105+ (89.0% ± 4.98) and CD44+ (99.68% ± 0.13) cells with varying proportions of CD90+ (23.36% ± 9.78), CD34+ (7.18% ± 4.03) and c-Kit+ (13.17% ± 8.67) cells. CD45+ (0.015% ± 0.005) and CD29+ (2.92% ± 2.46) populations were negligible. Increasing passage number of fresh CDCs correlated with an increase in the proportion of CD34+ and a decrease in CD90+ cells (P = 0.003 and 0.03, respectively). Cryopreserved CDCs displayed increased CD34+ (P < 0.001) and decreased CD90+ cells (P = 0.042) when compared to fresh cells. Overall, our study shows that cryopreservation of canine CDCs is feasible without altering their stem characteristics, thereby facilitating their utilization for clinical trials. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Role of endogenous annexin-A1 in the regulation of thymocyte positive and negative selection.

We have recently shown that endogenous Annexin-A1 (AnxA1) plays a homeostatic regulatory role in mature T cells by modulating the strength of TCR signaling. In this study we investigated the role of endogenous AnxA1 in thymocyte maturation. Analysis of AnxA1(-/-) thymocyte populations at the immature CD4(-)CD8(-) double negative (DN) stage showed a proportional decrease in the DN1 and an increase in the DN3 subsets compared to control littermates. There were no significant differences in thymocyte numbers or proportions of CD4(+) and CD8(+) single positive (SP) populations between Anx1(-/-) and AnxA1(+/+) mice. However, when we crossed AnxA1(-/-) mice onto HY-TCR transgenic mice, we observed an increase in CD4(+)CD8(+) double positive (DP) and CD4 SP cells in male AnxA1(-/-)/HY-TCR compared to AnxA1(+/+)/HY-TCR. Conversely, female AnxA1(-/-)/HY-TCR mice showed an increase in DP and a decrease in CD8 (SP) cells compared to female AnxA1(+/+)/HY-TCR. Biochemical analysis of the signaling pathways responsible for these effects showed a decrease in anti-CD3-induced Erk phosphorylation and NFkappaB activation in AnxA1(-/-) thymocytes compared to control littermates. Together these findings demonstrate a role for endogenous AnxA1 in regulating both positive and negative selection of the TCR repertoire. These results suggest that targeting AnxA1 expression or function in T cells could represent a useful approach for the development of novel therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Annexin-1-deficient dendritic cells acquire a mature phenotype during differentiation.

Dendritic cells play a key role in the adaptive immune system by influencing T-cell differentiation. Annexin-1 (Anx-A1) has recently been shown to modulate the adaptive immune response by regulating T-cell activation and differentiation. Here we investigated the role of endogenous Anx-A1 in dendritic cells as major cellular counterpart of T-cell-driven immune response. We found that Anx-A1(-/-) bone marrow-derived dendritic cells show an increased number of CD11c(+) cells expressing high levels of some maturation markers, such as CD40, CD54, and CD80, coupled to a decreased capacity to take up antigen compared to control Anx-A1(+/+) cells. However, analysis of LPS-treated dendritic cells from Anx-A1(-/-) mice demonstrated a diminished up-regulation of maturation markers, a decreased migratory activity in vivo, and an attenuated production of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and IL-12. This defect was also accompanied by impaired nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB/DNA-binding activity and lack of Anx-A1 signaling, as demonstrated by the reduced activation of extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and Akt compared to cells from control littermates. As a consequence of this phenotype, Anx-A1(-/-) dendritic cells showed an impaired capacity to stimulate T-cell proliferation and differentiation in mixed leukocyte reaction. Together, these findings suggest that inhibition of Anx-A1 expression or function in dendritic cells might represent a useful way to modulate the adaptive immune response and pathogen-induced T-cell-driven immune diseases.