scholarly journals Phage-Based Artificial Niche: The Recent Progress and Future Opportunities in Stem Cell Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kshitiz Raj Shrestha ◽  
So Young Yoo

Self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells can be the best option for treating intractable diseases in regenerative medicine, and they occur when these cells reside in a special microenvironment, called the “stem cell niche.” Thus, the niche is crucial for the effective performance of the stem cells in bothin vivoandin vitrosince the niche provides its functional cues by interacting with stem cells chemically, physically, or topologically. This review provides a perspective on the different types of artificial niches including engineered phage and how they could be used to recapitulate or manipulate stem cell niches. Phage-based artificial niche engineering as a promising therapeutic strategy for repair and regeneration of tissues is also discussed.

Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 559-559
Author(s):  
Sarah Rivkah Vaiselbuh ◽  
Morris Edelman ◽  
Jeffrey Michael Lipton ◽  
Johnson M. Liu

Abstract Abstract 559 Introduction: Different cellular components of the normal hematopoietic niche have been identified. However, the niche for malignant hematopoiesis remains to be elucidated. Recent work of other groups has suggested that hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) within the bone marrow anchor themselves in place by attaching to osteoblasts and/or vascular sinusoid endothelial cells. We have recently identified mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as niche-maker cells and found a crucial role of the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in this process. Stromal Derived Factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) regulates stem cell trafficking and the cell cycle via its receptor CXCR4. Methods: Polyurethane scaffolds, coated in vitro with human bone marrow MSC, were implanted subcutaneously in non-irradiated NOD/SCID mice. CD34+ HSC or primary AML cells (from a leukapheresis product) were injected either in situ or retro-orbitally in the mice and analyzed for engraftment. The mice were treated twice per week with in situ injections of SDF-1, AMD3100 (a CXCR4 antagonist) or PBS (control). After 2 to 4 weeks, the scaffolds were processed and evaluated for cell survival in the mesenchymal niche by immunohistochemistry. Results: We created in vitro MSC-coated scaffolds that retained inoculated AML cells in the presence of SDF-1, while AML cells seeded on empty scaffolds were not retained. In vivo in NOD/SCID mice, the MSC-coated scaffolds, in the presence of SDF-1 enabled homing of both in situ injected normal CD34+ HSC and retroorbital- or in situ injected primary human AML cells. The scaffolds were vascularized and showed osteoclasts and adipocytes present, suggestive of an ectopic human bone marrow microenvironment in the murine host. Finally, the SDF-1-treated scaffolds showed proliferation of the MSC stromal layer with multiple adherent AML cells, while in the AMD3100-treated scaffolds the stromal lining was thin and disrupted at several points, leaving AML cells free floating in proximity. The PBS-treated control-scaffold showed a thin single cell MSC stromal layer without disruption, with few AML cells attached. Conclusion: The preliminary data of this functional ectopic human microenvironment in NOD/SCID mice suggest that AMD3100 (a CXCR4 antagonist) can disrupt the stem cell niche by modulation of the mesenchymal stromal. Further studies are needed to define the role of mesenchymal stem cells in maintaining the hematopoietic/leukemic stem cell niche in vivo. In Vivo Leukemia Stem Cell Niche: (A) Empty polyurethane scaffold. (B)Vascularization in SQ implanted MSC-coated scaffold (s) niche in NOD/SCID mice. (C) DAB Peroxidase (brown) human CD45 positive nests of AML cells (arrows) 1 week after direct in situ AML injection. (D) Human CD45 positive myeloid cells adhere to MSC in vivo (arrows). Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolce Gjorevski ◽  
Paloma Ordóñez-Morán

Intestinal stem cells are located at the base of the crypts and are surrounded by a complex structure called niche. This environment is composed mainly of epithelial cells and stroma which provides signals that govern cell maintenance, proliferation, and differentiation. Understanding how the niche regulates stem cell fate by controlling developmental signaling pathways will help us to define how stem cells choose between self-renewal and differentiation and how they maintain their undifferentiated state. Tractable in vitro assay systems, which reflect the complexity of the in vivo situation but provide higher level of control, would likely be crucial in identifying new players and mechanisms controlling stem cell function. Knowledge of the intestinal stem cell niche gathered from both in vivo and novel in vitro models may help us improve therapies for tumorigenesis and intestinal damage and make autologous intestinal transplants a feasible clinical practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 1574-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley-Anne Turner ◽  
Matthew J. Dalby

Nanotopographical cues observed in vivo (such as in the sinusoid and bone) closely resemble nanotopographies that in vitro have been shown to promote niche relevant stem cells behaviours; specifically, retention of multipotency and osteogenic differentiation on ordered and disordered nano-pits respectively. These and other observations highlight a potential role for nano topography in the stem cell niche.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S7-S8
Author(s):  
Safina Gadeock ◽  
Cambrian Liu ◽  
Brent Polk

Abstract Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a highly expressed cytokine in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although TNF can induce colonic epithelial dysfunction and apoptosis, recent studies suggest that TNF signalling promotes epithelial wound repair and stem cell function. Here we investigated the role of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) in mediating TNF’s effects on colonic epithelial stem cells, integral to mucosal healing in colitis. We demonstrate that Tnfr1-/- mice exhibit loss in Lgr5 expression (-52%, p<0.02; N=6) compared to wildtype (WT) controls. However, the opposite result was found in vitro, wherein murine Tnfr1-/- colonoids demonstrated a significant increase in Lgr5 expression (66%, p<0.007; N=6) compared to WT colonoids. Similarly, human colonoids treated with an anti-TNFR1 antibody also demonstrated an increase in Lgr5 expression, relative to IgG controls. To resolve the contradiction in the in vivo versus in vitro environment, we hypothesized that mesenchymal TNFR1 expression regulates the epithelial stem cell niche. To determine the relationships between these cell types, we co-cultured WT or Tnfr1-/- colonoids with WT or Tnfr1-/- colonic myofibroblasts (CMFs). We found that epithelial Lgr5 expression was significantly higher (by 52%, p<0.05; N=3) when co-cultured with WT compared to TNFR1-/- myofibroblasts. The loss of TNFR1 expression in vivo increases the number of αSMA+ mesenchymal cells by nearly 56% (N=6) but considerably reduces the pericryptal PDGFRα+ cells, suggesting modifications in mesenchymal populations that contribute to the epithelial stem cell niche. Functionally, primary Tnfr1-/--CMFs displayed PI3k (p<0.001; N=3) and MAPK (p<0.01; N=3)-dependent increases in migration, proliferation, and differentiation, but RNA profiling demonstrated by diminished levels of stem cell niche factors, Rspo3 (-80%, p<0.0001; N=6) and Wnt2b (-63%, p<0.008; N=6) compared to WT-CMFs. Supplementation with 50ng recombinant Rspo3 for 5 d to Lgr5-GFP organoids co-cultured with TNFR1-/--CMFs restored Lgr5 expression to wildtype levels. Therefore, TNFR1-mediated TNF signalling in mesenchymal cells promotes their ability to support an epithelial stem cell niche. These results should motivate future studies of the stem cell niche in the context of long-term treatment with anti-TNF therapies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (145) ◽  
pp. 20180388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Donnelly ◽  
Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez ◽  
Matthew J. Dalby

Mesenchymal stem cells, characterized by their ability to differentiate into skeletal tissues and self-renew, hold great promise for both regenerative medicine and novel therapeutic discovery. However, their regenerative capacity is retained only when in contact with their specialized microenvironment, termed the stem cell niche . Niches provide structural and functional cues that are both biochemical and biophysical, stem cells integrate this complex array of signals with intrinsic regulatory networks to meet physiological demands. Although, some of these regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood or difficult to harness with traditional culture systems. Biomaterial strategies are being developed that aim to recapitulate stem cell niches, by engineering microenvironments with physiological-like niche properties that aim to elucidate stem cell-regulatory mechanisms, and to harness their regenerative capacity in vitro . In the future, engineered niches will prove important tools for both regenerative medicine and therapeutic discoveries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 539
Author(s):  
Vitaly Vodyanoy ◽  
Oleg Pustovyy ◽  
Ludmila Globa ◽  
Randy J. Kulesza ◽  
Iryna Sorokulova

Stem cells are nurtured and regulated by a specialized microenvironment known as stem cell niche. While the functions of the niches are well defined, their structure and location remain unclear. We have identified, in rat bone marrow, the seat of hematopoietic stem cells—extensively vascularized node-like compartments that fit the requirements for stem cell niche and that we called hemmules. Hemmules are round or oval structures of about one millimeter in diameter that are surrounded by a fine capsule, have afferent and efferent vessels, are filled with the extracellular matrix and mesenchymal, hematopoietic, endothelial stem cells, and contain cells of the megakaryocyte family, which are known for homeostatic quiescence and contribution to the bone marrow environment. We propose that hemmules are the long sought hematopoietic stem cell niches and that they are prototypical of stem cell niches in other organs.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 591-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana I. Teixeira ◽  
Ola Hermanson ◽  
Carsten Werner

AbstractStem cells have received a lot of attention due to great promises in medical treatment, for example, by replacing lost and sick cells and re-constituting cell populations. There are several classes of stem cells, including embryonic, fetal, and adult tissue specific. More recently, the generation of so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from differentiated cells has been established. Common criteria for all types of stem cells include their ability to self-renew and to retain their ability to differentiate in response to specific cues. These characteristics, as well as the instructive steering of the cells into differentiation, are largely dependent on the microenvironment surrounding the cells. Such “stem cell friendly” microenvironments, provided by structural and biochemical components, are often referred to as niches. Biomaterials offer attractive solutions to engineer functional stem cell niches and to steer stem cell state and fatein vitroas well asin vivo. Among materials used so far, promising results have been achieved with low-toxicity and biodegradable polymers, such as polyglycolic acid and related materials, as well as other polymers used as structural “scaffolds” for engineering of extracellular matrix components. To improve the efficiency of stem cell control and the design of the biomaterials, interfaces among stem cell research, developmental biology, regenerative medicine, chemical engineering, and materials research are rapidly developing. Here we provide an introduction to stem cell biology and principles of niche engineering and give an overview of recent advancements in stem cell niche engineering from two stem cell systems—blood and brain.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (5) ◽  
pp. F1254-F1262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Cheon Park ◽  
Kaoru Yasuda ◽  
Mei-Chuan Kuo ◽  
Jie Ni ◽  
Brian Ratliff ◽  
...  

Renal resident stem cells were previously reported within the renal tubules and papillary area. The aim of the present study was to determine whether renal capsules harbor stem cells and whether this pool can be recruited to the renal parenchyma after ischemic injury. We demonstrated the presence of label-retaining cells throughout the renal capsule, at a density of ∼10 cells/mm2, and their close apposition to the blood vessels. By flow cytometry, in vitro cultured cells derived from the renal capsule were positive for mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers (CD29+, vimentin+, Sca-1+, nestin+) but did not express hematopoietic and endothelial stem cell markers. Moreover, renal capsule-derived cells also exhibited self-renewal, clonogenicity, and multipotency in differentiation conditions, all favoring stem cell characteristics and identifying them with MSC. In situ labeling of renal capsules with CM-DiI CellTracker demonstrated in vivo a directed migration of CM-DiI-labeled cells to the ischemic renal parenchyma, with the rate of migration averaging 30 μm/h. Decapsulation of the kidneys during ischemia resulted in a modest, but statistically significant, deceleration of recovery of plasma creatinine compared with ischemic kidneys with intact renal capsule. Comparison of these conditions allows the conclusion that renal capsular cells may contribute ∼25–30% of the recovery from ischemia. In conclusion, the data suggest that the renal capsule may function as a novel stem cell niche harboring MSC capable of participating in the repair of renal injury.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodora Mourtzi ◽  
Dimitrios Dimitrakopoulos ◽  
Dimitrios Kakogiannis ◽  
Charalampos Salodimitris ◽  
Konstantinos Botsakis ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) underlines much of the pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the existence of an endogenous neurogenic system that could be targeted as a therapeutic strategy has been controversial. BNN-20 is a synthetic, BDNF-mimicking, microneurotrophin that we previously showed to exhibit a pleiotropic neuroprotective effect on the dopaminergic neurons of the SNpc in the “weaver” mouse model of PD. Here, we assessed its potential effects on neurogenesis. Methods We quantified total numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc of wild-type and “weaver” mice, with or without administration of BNN-20, and we employed BrdU labelling and intracerebroventricular injections of DiI to evaluate the existence of dopaminergic neurogenesis in the SNpc and to assess the origin of newborn dopaminergic neurons. The in vivo experiments were complemented by in vitro proliferation/differentiation assays of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) isolated from the substantia nigra and the subependymal zone (SEZ) stem cell niche to further characterize the effects of BNN-20. Results Our analysis revealed the existence of a low-rate turnover of dopaminergic neurons in the normal SNpc and showed, using three independent lines of experiments (stereologic cell counts, BrdU and DiI tracing), that the administration of BNN-20 leads to increased neurogenesis in the SNpc and to partial reversal of dopaminergic cell loss. The newly born dopaminergic neurons, that are partially originated from the SEZ, follow the typical nigral maturation pathway, expressing the transcription factor FoxA2. Importantly, the pro-cytogenic effects of BNN-20 were very strong in the SNpc, but were absent in other brain areas such as the cortex or the stem cell niche of the hippocampus. Moreover, although the in vitro assays showed that BNN-20 enhances the differentiation of NSCs towards glia and neurons, its in vivo administration stimulated only neurogenesis. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the existence of a neurogenic system in the SNpc that can be manipulated in order to regenerate the depleted dopaminergic cell population in the “weaver” PD mouse model. Microneurotrophin BNN-20 emerges as an excellent candidate for future PD cell replacement therapies, due to its area-specific, pro-neurogenic effects.


2022 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. e2116865118
Author(s):  
Shiv Shah ◽  
Caldon Jayson Esdaille ◽  
Maumita Bhattacharjee ◽  
Ho-Man Kan ◽  
Cato T. Laurencin

Stem cells are of great interest in tissue regeneration due to their ability to modulate the local microenvironment by secreting bioactive factors (collectively, secretome). However, secretome delivery through conditioned media still requires time-consuming cell isolation and maintenance and also may contain factors antagonistic to targeted tissue regeneration. We have therefore engineered a synthetic artificial stem cell (SASC) system which mimics the paracrine effect of the stem cell secretome and provides tailorability of the composition for targeted tissue regeneration. We report the first of many applications of the SASC system we have formulated to treat osteoarthritis (OA). Choosing growth factors important to chondrogenesis and encapsulating respective recombinant proteins in poly (lactic-coglycolic acid) 85:15 (PLGA) we fabricated the SASC system. We compared the antiinflammatory and chondroprotective effects of SASC to that of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) using in vitro interleukin 1B-induced and in vivo collagenase-induced osteoarthritis rodent models. We have designed SASC as an injectable therapy with controlled release of the formulated secretome. In vitro, SASC showed significant antiinflammatory and chondroprotective effects as seen by the up-regulation of SOX9 and reduction of nitric oxide, ADAMTS5, and PRG4 genes compared to ADSCs. In vivo, treatment with SASC and ADSCs significantly attenuated cartilage degeneration and improved the biomechanical properties of the articular cartilage in comparison to OA control. This SASC system demonstrates the feasibility of developing a completely synthetic, tailorable stem cell secretome which reinforces the possibility of developing a new therapeutic strategy that provides better control over targeted tissue engineering applications.


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