Tiziana Loria

Isolation and characterization of Oct-4 + /HLA-G + mesenchymal stem cells from human umbilical cord matrix: differentiation potential and detection of new markers

The presence of multipotent cells in several adult and embryo-related tissues opened new paths for their use in regenerative medicine. Extraembryonic tissues such as umbilical cord are considered a promising source of stem cells, potentially useful in therapy. The characterization of cells from the umbilical cord matrix (Wharton’s Jelly) and amniotic membrane revealed the presence of a population of mesenchymal-like cells, sharing a set of core-markers expressed by “mesenchymal stem cells”. Several reports enlightened the differentiation capabilities of these cells, even if at times the lack of an extensive characterization of surface markers and immune co-stimulators expression revealed hidden pitfalls when in vivo transplantation was performed. The present work describes a novel isolation protocol for obtaining mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord matrix. These cells are clonogenic, retain long telomeres, can undergo several population doublings in vitro, and can be differentiated in mature mesenchymal tissues as bone and adipose. We describe for the first time that these cells, besides expressing all of the core-markers for mesenchymal stem cells, feature also the expression, at both protein and mRNA level, of tolerogenic molecules and markers of all the three main lineages, potentially important for both their differentiative potential as well as immunological features.

New emerging potentials for human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells: immunological features and hepatocyte-like differentiative capacity.

In recent years, human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been extensively studied. Their key characteristics of long-term self-renewal and a capacity to differentiate into diverse mature tissues favor their use in regenerative medicine applications. Stem cells can be found in embryonic and extraembryonic tissues as well as in adult organs. Several reports indicate that cells of Whartons jelly (WJ), the main component of umbilical cord extracellular matrix, are multipotent stem cells, expressing markers of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC), and giving rise to different cellular types of both connective and nervous tissues. Whartons jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC) express markers previously characterized in embryonic stem cells (ESC), such as Nanog and Oct3/4A. WJ-MSC further emerge as promising hypoimmunogenic cells, due to the expression of molecules able to modulate NK cells and expand regulatory T-cell populations. Moreover, it is now accepted that the differentiative capacities of such cells span all the mesoderm-derived tissues, extending to neuroectodermal as well as endodermal lineages. In this review, we compare very recent data on the potential of WJ-MSC to undergo hepatocyte-like differentiation with the results obtained from other adult MSC populations. Data in the literature strongly suggest that WJ-MSC can differentiate into diverse cell types, showing a unique ability to cross lineage borders. This, together with their in vitro proliferative potential and their immunoregulatory features, renders these cells extremely promising for regenerative medicine applications in different pathological settings.

Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Candidates for Beta Cells Regeneration: Extending the Differentiative and Immunomodulatory Benefits of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are uniquely capable of crossing germinative layers borders (i.e. are able to differentiate towards ectoderm-, mesoderm- and endoderm-derived cytotypes) and are viewed as promising cells for regenerative medicine approaches in several diseases. Type I diabetes therapy should potentially benefit from such differentiated cells: the search for alternatives to organ/islet transplantation strategies via stem cells differentiation is an ongoing task, significant goals having been achieved in most experimental settings (e.g. insulin production and euglycaemia restoration), though caution is still needed to ensure safe and durable effects in vivo. MSC are obtainable in high numbers via ex vivo culture and can be differentiated towards insulin-producing cells (IPC). Moreover, recent reports evidenced that MSC possess immunomodulatory activities (acting on both innate and acquired immunity effectors) which should result in a reduction of the immunogenicity of transplanted cells, thus limiting rejection. Moreover it has been proposed that MSC administration should be used to attenuate the autoimmune processes which lead to the destruction of beta cells. This review illustrates the recent advances made in differentiating human MSC to IPC. In particular, we compare the effectiveness of the differentiation protocols applied, the markers and functional assays used to characterize differentiated progeny, and the in vivo controls. We further speculate on how MSC derived from Wharton’s jelly of human umbilical cord may represent a more promising regenerative medicine tool, as recently demonstrated for endoderm-derived organs (as liver) in human subjects, also considering their peculiar immunomodulatory features compared to other MSC populations.

Isolation and characterization of CD276+/HLA-E+ human subendocardial mesenchymal stem cells from chronic heart failure patients: analysis of differentiative potential and immunomodulatory markers expression.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are virtually present in all postnatal organs as well as in perinatal tissues. MSCs can be differentiated toward several mature cytotypes and interestingly hold potentially relevant immunomodulatory features. Myocardial infarction results in severe tissue damage, cardiomyocyte loss, and eventually heart failure. Cellular cardiomyoplasty represents a promising approach for myocardial repair. Clinical trials using MSCs are underway for a number of heart diseases, even if their outcomes are hampered by low long-term improvements and the possible presence of complications related to cellular therapy administration. Therefore, elucidating the presence and role of MSCs that reside in the post-infarct human heart should provide essential alternatives for therapy. In the current article we show a novel method to reproducibly isolate and culture MSCs from the subendocardial zone of human left ventricle from patients undergoing heart transplant for post-infarct chronic heart failure (HSE-MSCs, human subendocardial mesenchymal stem cells). By using both immunocytochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we demonstrated that these cells do express key MSCs markers and do express heart-specific transcription factors in their undifferentiated state, while lacking strictly cardiomyocyte-specific proteins. Moreover, these cells do express immunomodulatory molecules that should disclose their further potential in immune modulation processes in the post-infarct microenvironment. Another novel datum of potentially relevant interest is the expression of cardiac myosin heavy chain at nucclear level in HSE-MSCs. Standard MSCs trilineage differentiation experiments were also performed. The present paper adds new data on the basic biological features of heart-resident MSCs that populate the organ following myocardial infarction. The use of heart-derived MSCs to promote in-organ repair or as a cellular source for cardiomyoplasty is a fascinating and challenging task, which deserves further research efforts.

Role of endothelial cell stress in the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure.

Endothelial cells are key modulators of diverse physiological processes, and their impaired function is a cause of numerous cardiovascular diseases. Under physiologic condition, the reactive oxygen and nitrogen mediators in endothelia lead to the signal propagation of the initial stimulus, by forming molecules with a longer half-life like hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is the focus of growing attention in endothelial biology, and consequently the enzymes involved in its generation and clearance are viewed as novel mediators of great importance. In particular, among peroxidases, myeloperoxidase is recognized as a key enzyme, capable of impairing intracellular NO reservoirs as well as producing oxidized amino acids such as 3-chlorotyrosine or 3-nitrotyrosine. This process switches the functional pathways from normal signalling to a condition characterized by oxidative and/or nitrosative stress. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in these stress responses in endothelium will lead to better therapeutic strategies for oxidative stress-driven cardiovascular diseases.