Intranasal delivery of human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells restores lung alveolarization and vascularization in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a devastating lung condition that develops in premature newborns exposed to prolonged mechanical ventilation and supplemental oxygen. Significant morbidity and mortality are associated with this costly disease and effective therapies are limited. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that can repair injured tissue by secreting paracrine factors known to restore the function and integrity of injured lung epithelium and endothelium. Most preclinical studies showing therapeutic efficacy of MSCs for BPD are administered either intratracheally or intravenously. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of human cord tissue-derived MSC administration given via the intranasal route. Human umbilical cord tissue MSCs were isolated, characterized, and given intranasally (500 000 cells per 20 µL) to a hyperoxia-induced rat model of BPD. Lung alveolarization, vascularization, and pulmonary vascular remodeling were restored in animals receiving MSC treatment. Gene and protein analysis suggest the beneficial effects of MSCs were attributed, in part, to a concerted effort targeting angiogenesis, immunomodulation, wound healing, and cell survival. These findings are clinically significant, as neonates who develop BPD have altered alveolar development, decreased pulmonary vascularization and chronic inflammation, all resulting in impaired tissue healing. Our study is the first to report the intranasal delivery of umbilical cord Wharton's jelly MSCs in experimental BPD is feasible, noninvasive, and an effective route that may bear clinical applicability.

Mesenchymal stromal cell conditioned media for lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many lung diseases. Preclinical studies suggest that mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) conditioned media (CdM) can attenuate inflammation. Our aim was threefold: (1) summarize the existing animal literature evaluating CdM as a therapeutic agent for pediatric/adult lung disease, (2) quantify the effects of CdM on inflammation, and (3) compare inflammatory effects of CdM to MSCs. METHODS: Adhering to the Systematic Review Protocol for Animal Intervention Studies, a systematic search of English articles was performed in five databases. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed to generate random effect size using standardized mean difference (SMD). RESULTS: A total of 10 studies met inclusion. Lung diseases included bronchopulmonary dysplasia, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. CdM decreased inflammatory cells (1.02 SMD, 95% CI 0.86, 1.18) and cytokines (0.71 SMD, 95% CI 0.59, 0.84). The strongest effect for inflammatory cells was in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (3.74 SMD, 95% CI 3.13, 4.36) while pulmonary hypertension had the greatest reduction in inflammatory cytokine expression (1.44 SMD, 95% CI 1.18, 1.71). Overall, CdM and MSCs had similar anti-inflammatory effects. CONCLUSIONS: In this meta-analysis of animal models recapitulating lung disease, CdM improved inflammation and had an effect size comparable to MSCs. While these findings are encouraging, the risk of bias and heterogeneity limited the strength of our findings.

Comparison of Preterm and Term Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Properties in Different Oxygen Tensions.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown promise as therapeutic agents in treating morbidities associated with premature birth. MSCs derived from the human umbilical cord are easy to isolate and have low immunogenicity and a robust ability to secrete paracrine factors. To date, there are no studies evaluating preterm versus term umbilical cord tissue-derived MSCs. Therefore, our aim was twofold: (1) to compare stem cell properties in preterm versus term MSCs and (2) to examine the impact of oxygen tension on stem cell behavior. Umbilical cord tissue was obtained from 5 preterm and 5 term neonates. The cells were isolated and characterized as MSCs in accordance with the International Society for Cellular Therapy. We exposed MSCs to different oxygen tensions to examine the impact of environmental factors on cell performance. We studied the following stem cell properties: (i) motility, (ii) proliferation, (iii) senescence, (iv) cell viability, (v) colony-forming unit efficiency, and (vi) inflammatory cytokine expression. Under normoxia (21% O2), cells from preterm and term infants had similar properties. Under hypoxic conditions (1% O2), term MSCs had better cell proliferation; however, cells exposed to hyperoxia (90% O2) had the slowest motility and lowest cell viability (p < 0.05). There was no difference in the expression of senescence or cytokine expression between the groups. The term cells demonstrated more colony-forming efficiency than the preterm cells. In sum, our preliminary findings suggest that MSCs derived from term and preterm umbilical cords have similar characteristics, offering the potential of future autologous/allogeneic MSC transplants in neonates.