Abstract 17093: Human Neonatal Cardiac Mesenchymal Stem Cells Demonstrates Superior Cardiac Regenerative Abilities Compared to Other Stem Cells

Stem cells transplantation is being explored as an effective therapy for heart diseases. However, majority of stem cell therapies for adult patients with myocardial infarction (MI) had mixed and inconsistent results implying chronological age may influence the effectiveness of regenerative therapies. Therefore, herein, we performed a head-to-head comparison between different, well-studied stem cell types to identify the superior regenerative cell type using rodent MI model.After our standard characterization for each stem cell type (FACS for cell surface markers), 1 million neonatal Cardiac Mesenchymal Stem cells (nMSCs), adult MSCs (aMSCs), adult derived cardiosphere derived cells (aCDCs), umbilical cord derived cells (UCBCs), Bone Marrow derived Mesenchymal Stem cells (BM-MSCs), or cell-free Iscove Modified Dulbecco Medium (IMDM as placebo control) were injected into athymic rat myocardial infarct model. Although all the tested groups significantly improved ejection fraction, nMSCs outperformed other stem cells in cardiac functional recovery. Additionally, nMSCs also showed significant increased cardiac functional recovery compared to aMSCs in wild type rat MI model. Mason trichrome staining with heart sections revealed that decreased fibrosis was evident on nMSCs injection compared to aMSCs in both athymic and wild type rat MI model. Myocardial sections from rats received nMSCs showed significantly reduced M1 macrophages (inflammatory) and increased M2 macrophages (anti-inflammatory) compared with sections from rats having received aMSCs and IMDM control. Pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines analyzed on sera collected on day 2 and 7 revealed that anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL10) was significantly increased and inflammatory cytokines (IL4 and IL12) reduced in nMSCs compared to aMSCs transplanted MI rat model.In conclusion, nMSCs demonstrated superior functional abilities, reduced fibrosis, inflammatory cells and cytokines compared to all the other cell types and with aMSCs demonstrating that nMSCs is an ideal stem cell type for therapeutic application in myocardial infarction.

Stem-cell-ubiquitous genes spatiotemporally coordinate division through regulation of stem-cell-specific gene networks

Stem cells are responsible for generating all of the differentiated cells, tissues, and organs in a multicellular organism and, thus, play a crucial role in cell renewal, regeneration, and organization. A number of stem cell type-specific genes have a known role in stem cell maintenance, identity, and/or division. Yet, how genes expressed across different stem cell types, referred to here as stem-cell-ubiquitous genes, contribute to stem cell regulation is less understood. Here, we find that, in the Arabidopsis root, a stem-cell-ubiquitous gene, TESMIN-LIKE CXC2 (TCX2), controls stem cell division by regulating stem cell-type specific networks. Development of a mathematical model of TCX2 expression allows us to show that TCX2 orchestrates the coordinated division of different stem cell types. Our results highlight that genes expressed across different stem cell types ensure cross-communication among cells, allowing them to divide and develop harmonically together.

Stem-cell-ubiquitous genes spatiotemporally coordinate division through regulation of stem-cell-specific gene networks

Stem cells are responsible for generating all of the differentiated cells, tissues, and organs in a multicellular organism and, thus, play a crucial role in cell renewal, regeneration, and organization. A number of stem cell type-specific genes have a known role in stem cell maintenance, identity, and/or division. Yet, how genes expressed across different stem cell types, referred here as stem-cell-ubiquitous genes, contribute to stem cell regulation is less understood. Here, we find that, in the Arabidopsis root, a stem-cell-ubiquitous gene, TESMIN-LIKE CXC2 (TCX2), controls stem cell division by regulating stem cell-type specific networks. Development of a mathematical model of TCX2 expression allowed us to show that TCX2 orchestrates the coordinated division of different stem cell types. Our results highlight that genes expressed across different stem cell types ensure cross-communication among cells, allowing them to divide and develop harmonically together.

How to Improve the Survival of Transplanted Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Ischemic Heart?

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is an intensely studied stem cell type applied for cardiac repair. For decades, the preclinical researches on animal model and clinical trials have suggested that MSC transplantation exerts therapeutic effect on ischemic heart disease. However, there remain major limitations to be overcome, one of which is the very low survival rate after transplantation in heart tissue. Various strategies have been tried to improve the MSC survival, and many of them showed promising results. In this review, we analyzed the studies in recent years to summarize the methods, effects, and mechanisms of the new strategies to address this question.