Bovine fetal mesenchymal stem cells exert antiproliferative effect against mastitis causing pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most commonly isolated pathogen from clinical bovine mastitis samples and a difficult pathogen to combat. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent progenitor cells equipped with a variety of factors that inhibit bacterial growth. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial potential against S. aureus of conditioned medium (CM) from MSC derived from fetal bovine bone marrow (BM-MSC) and adipose tissue (AT-MSC). BM-MSC, AT-MSC and fetal fibroblasts (FB) cultures were activated by infection with S. aureus. Bacterial growth was evaluated in presence of CM, concentrated CM (CCM), activated CM (ACM) and concentrated ACM (CACM) from BM-MSC, AT-MSC and FB. Gene expression of ß-defensin 4A (bBD-4A), NK-lysine 1 (NK1), cathelicidin 2 (CATHL2), hepcidin (HEP) and indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) and protein expression of bBD-4A were determined in activated and non-activated cells. The majority of BM-MSC and AT-MSC expressed CD73, Oct4 and Nanog, and were negative for CD34. Growth of S. aureus decreased when it was exposed to CM from BM-MSC, AT-MSC and FB. Moreover, growth of S. aureus in CCM, ACM and CACM was lower compared to controls of CM from BM-MSC and AT-MSC. Activated AT-MSC increased mRNA levels of bBD4A and NK1, and protein levels of bBD4A in CM. Thus, CM from fetal bovine BM-MSC and AT-MSC has the capacity to reduce in average ~30% of S. aureus relative growth under in vitro conditions. The in vitro antibacterial effect of fetal bovine MSC may be mediated by bBD4A and NK1 activity.

Myogenic Differentiation Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Fetal Bovine Bone Marrow.

The myogenic potential of bovine fetal MSC (bfMSC) derived from bone marrow (BM) remains unknown; despite its potential application for the study of myogenesis and its implications for livestock production. In the present study, three protocols for in vitro myogenic differentiation of bfMSC based on the use of DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza), myoblast-secreted factor Galectin-1 (Gal-1), and myoblast culture medium SkGM-2 BulletKit were used. Plastic-adherent bfMSC were isolated from fetal BM collected from abattoir-derived fetuses. Post-thaw viability analyses detected 85.6% bfMSC negative for propidium iodine (PI). Levels of muscle regulatory factors (MRF) MYF5, MYF6, MYOD, and DES mRNA were higher (P < 0.05) in bfMSC cultured under 100 µM of 5-Aza compared to 1 and 10 µM. Treatment of bfMSC with 10 µM of 5-Aza resulted in down-regulation of MYOD mRNA (Days 7 to 21) and up-regulation of MYF6 (Day 7), MYF5, and DES mRNA (Day 21). Gal-1 and SkGM-2 BulletKit induced sequential down-regulation of early MRF (MYF5) and up-regulation of intermediate (MYOD) and late MRF (DES) mRNA. Moreover, DES and MYF5 were immunodetected in differentiated bfMSC. In conclusion, protocols evaluated in bfMSC induced progress into myogenic differentiation until certain extent evidenced by changes in MRF gene expression.