Umbilical Cord Pericytes Provide a Viable Alternative to Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Neonatal Vascular Engineering

Reconstructive surgery of congenital heart disease (CHD) remains inadequate due to the inability of prosthetic grafts to match the somatic growth of pediatric patients. Functionalization of grafts with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may provide a solution. However, MSCs represent a heterogeneous population characterized by wide diversity across different tissue sources. Here we investigated the suitability of umbilical cord pericytes (UCPs) in neonatal vascular engineering. Explant outgrowth followed by immunomagnetic sorting was used to isolate neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2)+/CD31− UCPs. Expanded NG2 UCPs showed consistent antigenic phenotype, including expression of mesenchymal and stemness markers, and high proliferation rate. They could be induced to a vascular smooth muscle cell-like phenotype after exposure to differentiation medium, as evidenced by the expression of transgelin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain. Analysis of cell monolayers and conditioned medium revealed production of extracellular matrix proteins and the secretion of major angiocrine factors, which conferred UCPs with ability to promote endothelial cell migration and tube formation. Decellularized swine-derived grafts were functionalized using UCPs and cultured under static and dynamic flow conditions. UCPs were observed to integrate into the outer layer of the graft and modify the extracellular environment, resulting in improved elasticity and rupture strain in comparison with acellular grafts. These findings demonstrate that a homogeneous pericyte-like population can be efficiently isolated and expanded from human cords and integrated in acellular grafts currently used for repair of CHD. Functional assays suggest that NG2 UCPs may represent a viable option for neonatal tissue engineering applications.

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Autophagy of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells conduces to pro-angiogenic function of conditioned medium

10.21203/rs.3.rs-227201/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wenya Wang ◽

Xiao Li ◽

Chaochu Cui ◽

Dongling Liu ◽

Guotian Yin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Wound Healing ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Conditioned Medium ◽

Umbilical Cord ◽

Tube Formation ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

And Control

Abstract BackgroundAngiogenesis is a key prerequisite for wound healing. The conditioned medium following culture of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) has a potential to promote angiogenesis, but the efficacy is very low. Autophagy is an important process in protein recycling and a contributor for cell exocrine, which maybe stimulate the release of cytokines from UCMSCs to the medium and enhance the pro-angiogenic efficacy of the conditioned medium.MethodsAutophagy in UCMSCs was induced by 100 nM, 1 µM and 10 µM rapamycin for 6-hour and then detected by LC-3 immunofluorescence staining. After induction, the cells were washed with PBS for 3 times and cultured in fresh medium without rapamycin for additional 24-hour. And then, the conditioned medium was collected for the following experiments. The angiogenic effects of different groups of conditioned medium were verified by in vitro and in vivo tube formation assays in the matrigel-coated plates and matrigel plaques injected in mouse inguinal areas. Finally, the expressions of angiogenic factors including VEGF, FGF-1, FGF-2, TGF-α, MMP-3, MMP-9, PDGF-α, PDGF-β, HIF-1α and Ang II in the autophagic and control UCMSCs were measured by q-PCR assay.ResultsRapamycin induced autophagy of UCMSCs in a dose dependent manner, but the conditioned medium in 100 nM rapamycin-induced group was with the best pro-angiogenic efficacy. Thus, this group of medium was viewed as the optimal conditioned medium. The in vivo tube formation assay showed that angiogenesis in matrigel plaques injected daily with the optimal conditioned medium was more obvious than that injected with the control conditioned medium. Further, the expressions of VEGF, FGF-2, PDGF-α, MMP-9 and HIF-1α were markedly increased in UCMSCs following treatment with 100 nM rapamycin.ConclusionAppropriate autophagy improves the pro-angiogenic efficacy of the conditioned medium, which might be utilized to optimize the applications of UCMSCs-derived conditioned medium in wound healing and tissue repair.Trial registrationNot applicable.

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Exposure to blue light stimulates the proangiogenic capability of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-019-1472-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kun Yang ◽

Dong Li ◽

Meitian Wang ◽

Zhiliang Xu ◽

Xiao Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Endothelial Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Blue Light ◽

Umbilical Cord ◽

Tube Formation ◽

Human Umbilical Cord ◽

Light Illumination

Abstract Background The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be attributed partly to the secreted paracrine factors, which comprise exosomes. Exosomes are small, saucer-shaped vesicles containing miRNAs, mRNAs, and proteins. Exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) have been reported to promote angiogenesis. However, the efficacy of exosome-based therapies is still limited both in vitro and in vivo. The present study aimed to develop a new optical manipulation approach to stimulate the proangiogenic potential of exosomes and characterize its mechanism underlying tissue regeneration. Methods We used blue (455 nm) and red (638 nm) monochromatic light exposure to investigate the processing of stimuli. Exosomes were prepared by QIAGEN exoEasy Maxi kit and confirmed to be present by transmission electron microscopy and immunoblotting analyses. The proangiogenic activity of blue light-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), when co-cultured with hUC-MSCs, was assessed by EdU (5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine) incorporation, wound closure, and endothelial tube formation assays. The in vivo angiogenic activity of blue light-treated MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exs) was evaluated using both murine matrigel plug and skin wound models. Results We found that 455-nm blue light is effective for promoting proliferation, migration, and tube formation of HUVECs co-cultured with MSCs. Furthermore, MSC-Exs stimulated in vivo angiogenesis and their proangiogenic potential were enhanced significantly upon blue light illumination. Finally, activation of the endothelial cells in response to stimulation by blue light-treated exosomes was demonstrated by upregulation of two miRNAs, miR-135b-5p, and miR-499a-3p. Conclusions Blue (455 nm) light illumination improved the therapeutic effects of hUC-MSC exosomes by enhancing their proangiogenic ability in vitro and in vivo with the upregulation of the following two miRNAs: miR-135b-5p and miR-499a-3p. Graphical abstract

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Umbilical cord/placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells inhibit fibrogenic activation in human intestinal myofibroblasts via inhibition of myocardin-related transcription factor A

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-019-1385-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Yoon Jeong Choi ◽

Jun Bon Koo ◽

Hee Yeon Kim ◽

Jin Won Seo ◽

Eun Jeong Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Transcription Factor ◽

Smooth Muscle ◽

Umbilical Cord ◽

Smooth Muscle Actin ◽

Muscle Actin ◽

Intestinal Fibrosis ◽

Related Transcription Factor ◽

Tgf Β1

Abstract Background The lack of anti-fibrotic agents targeting intestinal fibrosis is a large unmet need in inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Previous studies have found that perinatal tissue (umbilical cord, UC; placenta, PL)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reduce fibrosis in several organs. However, their effects on human intestinal fibrosis are poorly understood. This study investigated the anti-fibrogenic properties and mechanisms of MSCs derived from UC and PL (UC/PL-MSCs) on human primary intestinal myofibroblasts (HIMFs). Methods The HIMFs were treated with TGF-β1 and co-cultured with UC/PL-MSCs. We used a small molecular inhibitor CCG-100602 to examine whether serum response factor (SRF) and its transcriptional cofactor myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTF-A) are involved in TGF-β1-induced fibrogenic activation in HIMFs. The anti-fibrogenic mechanism of UC/PL-MSCs on HIMFs was analyzed by detecting the expression of RhoA, MRTF-A, and SRF in HIMFs. Results UC/PL-MSCs reduced TGF-β1-induced procollagen1A1, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin expression in HIMFs. This anti-fibrogenic effect was more apparent in the UC-MSCs. TGF-β1 stimulation increased the expressions of RhoA, MRTF-A, and SRF in the HIMFs. TGF-β1 induced the synthesis of procollagen1A1, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin through a MRTF-A/SRF-dependent mechanism. Co-culture with the UC/PL-MSCs downregulated fibrogenesis by inhibition of RhoA, MRTF-A, and SRF expression. Conclusions UC/PL-MSCs suppress TGF-β1-induced fibrogenic activation in HIMFs by blocking the Rho/MRTF/SRF pathway and could be considered as a novel candidate for stem cell-based therapy of intestinal fibrosis.

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