间充质干细胞与肿瘤转移

间充质干细胞是一类能够自我更新、具有多向分化潜能的成体干细胞。近年来,有证据认为间充质干细胞是肿瘤组织中基质细胞的祖先,因此间充质干细胞微环境与肿瘤转移的关系逐渐成为研究热点,但间充质干细胞对肿瘤转移是促进还是抑制,目前的研究并不一致。我们简要综述了间充质干细胞参与肿瘤转移的研究进展。     

人脐带间充质干细胞抗肿瘤机制的研究进展

人脐带间充质干细胞(HUMSCs)是一种具有高度自我更新能力和多向分化潜能的干细胞群,具有分泌特定细胞因子、诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡、适用于基因编辑、安全性好及肿瘤趋向性等特性。有较多的研究者研究HUMSCs对肿瘤的作用,试图将HUMSCs作为肿瘤治疗的新方法。就HUMSCs抗肿瘤作用的研究进展作一综述。     

基因重组间充质干细胞治疗消化道肿瘤实验研究

间充质干细胞(mesenchymal stem cells,MSCs)是一类主要来自于骨髓等基质组织的非造血干细胞。近年来,其作为细胞载体用于肿瘤治疗而受到广泛关注。研究提示,间充质干细胞具有趋肿瘤性、低免疫原性及免疫调节等特点,可作为基因治疗的载体。该文就其在消化道肿瘤方面的研究进展进行综述,并提出现有的挑战及思考。     

人骨髓来源间充质干细胞外泌体与肿瘤生长的关系

已知间充质干细胞参与肿瘤微环境的形成并与肿瘤细胞相互作用。然而,间充质干细胞对肿瘤细胞生长的潜在功能性影响目前仍存在争议。本研究从人骨髓来源的间充质干细胞外泌体的角度,研究骨髓间充质干细胞对人骨肉瘤和人胃癌细胞生长的分子机制。在补充10%胎牛血清和1%青霉素-链霉素的完全DMEM/F12培养基中分离培养人骨髓来源的间充质干细胞,收获含有外泌体的细胞上清液并离心。在添加/不添加Hedgehog通路的小分子抑制剂GANT-61的情况下,分别用人骨髓来源的间充质干细胞的外泌体处理骨肉瘤(MG63)和胃癌细胞(SGC7901)。通过Transwell侵袭测定、划痕迁移测定和CCK-8测试来测量细胞活力。结果表明:人骨髓来源的间充质干细胞分泌的外泌体通过激活Hedgehog信号通路促进MG63和SGC7901细胞生长。Hedgehog信号通路的抑制剂GANT-61显著抑制了外泌体对肿瘤生长的促进作用。本研究为Hedgehog信号通路在人骨髓来源的间充质干细胞分泌的外泌体中诱导肿瘤进展提供了理论依据。     

上皮间充质转化促进肿瘤细胞干性获得的研究进展

上皮间充质转化是上皮细胞丢失细胞极性和细胞黏附,而获得间充质细胞迁移和侵袭特性的生物学过程.肿瘤干细胞是存在于肿瘤中具有自我更新和异质性分化能力的一小群细胞,在肿瘤的发生发展过程中起重要的作用.上皮间充质转化(EMT)与肿瘤的转移密切相关,而近几年的研究表明,EMT也可以促进肿瘤细胞获得干细胞的特性,因此使肿瘤治疗更困难,本文对EMT促肿瘤干细胞形成机制及其对临床治疗意义的研究进展作一综述.     

脐带间充质干细胞牙向分化的可行性研究

再生医学近年来受到越来越多的重视。它开启了治疗由于老化,损伤及一些先天性缺陷所造成的缺损畸形的新途径。其临床应用已涉及到各种组织的修复,包括血液,皮肤,角膜,软骨和骨等。在口腔领域,目前治疗牙缺失主要依靠修复体,种植体和牙移植。然而这些方法都存在一定的缺陷。而通过再生医学的原理和方法实现牙再生治疗可以为机体提供有生命的,有功能的,相容性好的组织结构。种子细胞是牙再生的基础与关键。在牙再生研究中,牙髓间充质干细胞,牙乳头细胞,牙周膜间充质细胞,牙囊细胞及牙源性上皮细胞等牙源性干细胞常通过诱导分化为成釉细胞或成牙本质细胞来作为种子细胞应用,在临床上却难以获取,近来研究也有用骨髓间充质干细胞或脂肪间充质干细胞细胞等非牙源性干细胞者,但其牙向分化能力及分化调控机制还不明确。跻带间充质干细胞在新近的研究中较其它非牙源性干细胞表现出更大的优势,脐带间充质干细胞更原始、具有更高可塑性、更大扩增分化潜能。在此,本文就脐带间充质干细胞向牙细胞系分化的可能性做一论述,并对其可能实现的牙向分化给出可能的方法和策略,为牙再生种子细胞的选取提供新的思路。     

干细胞治疗心血管疾病的研究进展

干细胞移植能促使受损心肌再生和改善心功能,是治疗心血管疾病的理想选择。现在有多种干细胞用于研究,用于治疗心血管疾病的干细胞包括胚胎干细胞,诱导多能干细胞、骨髓间充质干细胞和心脏干细胞。不同类型的干细胞都有各自的优点和局限性。胚胎干细胞由于伦理问题应用受到限制。诱导多能干细胞具有胚胎样细胞的特性,增殖能力很强,但是有形成肿瘤的风险。间充质干细胞由于具有免疫调节特性可作为万能供体细胞。心脏干细胞比其它类型的干细胞能更好地表达心肌分化的标记物,改善心脏功能。本文对干细胞在心血管疾病研究及治疗中的最新进展进行综述。     

人脐带间充质干细胞作为维持人胚胎干细胞生长饲养层细胞的研究

目的寻找可以维持人胚胎干细胞未分化生长的人源性细胞作为饲养层细胞,从而解决使用鼠源性细胞作为饲养层带来的安全问题。方法尝试以人脐带间充质干细胞作为饲养层细胞来培养人胚胎干细胞,检验其是否可以维持人胚胎干细胞的未分化生长状态。用胶原酶消化法分离人脐带间充质干细胞,光镜下观察细胞形态;流式细胞仪检测其表面标志;诱导人脐带间充质干细胞向成骨细胞和脂肪细胞进行分化。将人胚胎干细胞系H1接种于丝裂霉素C灭活后的人脐带间充质干细胞上,每隔5d进行一次传代。培养20代后,对人胚胎干细胞特性进行相关检测,包括细胞形态、碱性磷酸酶染色、相关多能性基因的表达、分化能力。结果从人脐带中分离出的间充质干细胞为梭形,呈平行排列生长或漩涡状生长;细胞高表达CD44、CD29、CD73、CD105、CD90、CD86、CD147、CD117,不表达CD14、CD38、CD133、CD34、CD45、HLA-DR;具有分化成脂肪细胞和成骨细胞的潜能。人胚胎干细胞在人脐带间充质干细胞饲养层上培养20代后,继续保持人胚胎干细胞的典型形态,碱性磷酸酶染色为阳性,免疫荧光染色显示OCT4、Nanog、SSEA4、TRA-1-81、TRA-1-60的表达为阳性,SSEA1表达为阴性,体外悬浮培养可以形成拟胚体。结论人脐带间充质干细胞可以作为人胚胎干细胞的饲养层细胞,支持其生长,并维持其未分化生长状态。     

人脐带间充质干细胞的安全性评价

干细胞治疗作为某些难治性疾病的新型治疗手段,在组织修复、自身免疫疾病和退行性疾病治疗中具有重要的临床价值.本研究以裸鼠为动物模型,通过裸鼠皮下成瘤、克隆形成和端粒酶活性等试验,评估人脐带间充质干细胞的安全性,为干细胞用于临床治疗的安全性提供参考.裸鼠成瘤性试验结果显示,阴性对照组和试验组成瘤数均为0,阳性对照组成瘤数为...     

脐带间充质干细胞的生物学特性及旁分泌作用的研究进展

脐带是由胚胎外中胚层和/或胚胎中胚层发育而来的组织,脐带间充质干细胞是具有自我更新、多向分化以及高度增殖潜能的多功能干细胞。研究证明,脐带间充质干细胞具有以下功能：参与炎症反应,抑制炎症因子分泌并促进免疫调节;参与受损伤组织的治疗与修复使其再生并改善特定疾病症状;抑制肿瘤增殖和迁移以及促进其凋亡等。然而目前尚未明确以上功能是间充质干细胞本身发挥作用,还是其分泌的相关因子对机体修复产生作用。主要对脐带间充质干细胞的定义、来源、生物学特性、分泌功能等方面的研究进展进行了综述,旨在更好地利用间充质干细胞修复组织,以期为脐带间充质干细胞的后续研究提供参考依据。     

The potential of mesenchymal stem cells derived from amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid for neuronal regenerative therapy

The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are derived from the mesoderm, are considered as a readily available source for tissue engineering. They have multipotent differentiation capacity and can be differentiated into various cell types. Many studies have demonstrated that the MSCs identified from amniotic membrane (AM-MSCs) and amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs) are shows advantages for many reasons, including the possibility of noninvasive isolation, multipotency, self-renewal, low immunogenicity, anti-inflammatory and nontumorigenicity properties, and minimal ethical problem. The AF-MSCs and AM-MSCs may be appropriate sources of mesenchymal stem cells for regenerative medicine, as an alternative to embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Recently, regenerative treatments such as tissue engineering and cell transplantation have shown potential in clinical applications for degenerative diseases. Therefore, amnion and MSCs derived from amnion can be applied to cell therapy in neuro-degeneration diseases. In this review, we will describe the potential of AM-MSCs and AF-MSCs, with particular focus on cures for neuronal degenerative diseases. [BMB Reports 2014; 47(3): 135-140]     

Mesenchymal cells from human amniotic fluid survive and migrate after transplantation into adult rat brain

Amniotic fluid has been recently suggested as an alternative source of mesenchymal stem cells. However, the fate of amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) after in vivo transplantation has yet to be determined. In the present study we explored whether human AF-MSCs could survive and migrate following transplantation into the striatum of normal and ischemic rat. We found that the grafted cells could survive and migrate towards multiple brain regions in the normal animals, while they moved towards the injured region in the ischemic rat. Double-immunostaining analyses showed that the implanted human AF-MSCs express markers for immature neurons (Doublecortin) at 10 days, and for astrocytes (GFAP) at 10, 30 and 90 after transplantation. This study provides the first evidence that human amniotic fluid contains cells having the potential to survive and integrate into adult rat brain tissue and, therefore, to function as effective stem cells for therapeutic strategies.     

Schwann-like cells can be induction from human nestin-positive amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells

We examined the morphological, phenotypic, and functional characteristics of human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs) differentiated towards a Schwann cell lineage. Initially, we induced human AF-MSCs into nestin-positive AF-MSCs. And then, these nestin-positive AF-MSCs were induced into floating neurospheres. After that, neurospheres were induced to differentiate into Schwann-like cells using glia growth factors. In comparison with AF-MSCs, nestin-positive AF-MSCs significantly increased the ratio of neurosphere formation and the percentage of nestin expression in the neurosphere. Differentiated AF-MSCs showed morphological changes similar to those found in Schwann cells. Expression of the Schwann cell markers was determined by immunocytochemical staining and western blotting. Furthermore, differentiated AF-MSCs could promote neurite outgrowth in co-culture with dorsal root ganglia neurons. These results suggest that conversion of human nestin-positive AF-MSCs into cells with Schwann-like cell characteristics is possible and that these cells may have the potential for future cellular therapy for peripheral neurological disorders.     

Comparison of the Neural Differentiation Potential of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Amniotic Fluid and Adult Bone Marrow

Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a promising tool for cell-based therapies of nervous system diseases. Bone marrow (BM) has been the traditional source of MSCs (BM-MSCs). However, there are some limitations for their clinical use, such as the decline in cell number and differentiation potential with age. Recently, amniotic fluid (AF)-derived MSCs (AF-MSCs) have been shown to express embryonic and adult stem cell markers, and can differentiate into cells of all three germ layers. In this study, we isolated AF-MSCs from second-trimester AF by limiting dilution and compared their proliferative capacity, multipotency, neural differentiation ability, and secretion of neurotrophins to those of BM-MSCs. AF-MSCs showed a higher proliferative capacity and more rapidly formed and expanded neurospheres compared to those of BM-MSCs. Both immunocytochemical and quantitative real-time PCR analyses demonstrated that AF-MSCs showed higher expression of neural stemness markers than those of BM-MSCs following neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation. Furthermore, the levels of brain-derived growth factor and nerve growth factor secreted by AF-MSCs in the culture medium were higher than those of BM-MSCs. In addition, AF-MSCs maintained a normal karyotype in long-term cultures after NSC differentiation and were not tumorigenic in vivo. Our findings suggest that AF-MSCs are a promising and safe alternative to BM-MSCs for therapy of nervous system diseases.     

Comparative analysis of multilineage properties of mesenchymal stromal cells derived from fetal sources shows an advantage of mesenchymal stromal cells isolated from cord blood in chondrogenic differentiation potential

Background aimsCord blood (CB) and amniotic fluid (AF) could represent new and attractive mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) sources, but their potential therapeutic applications are still limited by lack of standardized protocols for isolation and differentiation. In particular, chondrogenic differentiation has never been deeply investigated.MethodsMSCs were obtained from CB and AF samples collected during cesarean sections at term and compared for their biological and differentiation properties, with particular interest in cartilage differentiation, in which quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analyses were performed to evaluate the expression of type 2 collagen, type 10 collagen, SRY-box9 and aggrecan.ResultsWe were able to isolate MSCs from 12 of 30 (40%) and 5 of 20 (25%) CB and AF units, respectively. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis indicated the fetal origin of isolated MSC strains. Both populations expressed mesenchymal but not endothelial and hematopoietic markers, even though we observed a lower expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) I in CB-MSCs. No differences in proliferation rate and cell cycle analysis could be detected. After osteogenic induction, both populations showed matrix mineralization and typical marker expression. Under chondrogenic conditions, pellets derived from CB-MSCs, in contrast with AF-MSCs pellets, were significantly larger, showed cartilage-like morphology and resulted positive for chondrocyte-associated markers, such as type 2 collagen, type 10 collagen, SRY-box9 and aggrecan.ConclusionsOur results show that CB-MSCs and AF-MSCs collected at term differ from each other in their biological and differentiation properties. In particular, only CB-MSCs showed a clear chondrogenic potential and thus could represent an ideal candidate for cartilage-tissue engineering.     

Characteristics of Human Amniotic Fluid Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Tropism to Human Ovarian Cancer

The mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from amniotic fluid (AF) have become an attractive stem cells source for cell-based therapy because they can be harvested at low cost and avoid ethical disputes. In human research, stem cells derived from AF gradually became a hot research direction for disease treatment, specifically for their plasticity, their reduced immunogenicity and their tumor tropism regardless of the tumor size, location and source. Our work aimed to obtain and characterize human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AFMSCs) and detect their ovarian cancer tropsim in nude mice model. Ten milliliters of twenty independent amniotic fluid samples were collected from 16-20 week pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis for fetal genetic determination in routine prenatal diagnosis in the first affiliated hospital of Harbin medical university. We successfully isolated the AFMSCs from thirteen of twenty amniotic fluid samples. AFMSCs presented a fibroblastic-like morphology during the culture. Flow cytometry analyses showed that the cells were positive for specific stem cell markers CD73,CD90, CD105, CD166 and HLA-ABC (MHC class I), but negative for CD 45,CD40, CD34, CD14 and HLA-DR (MHC class II). RT-PCR results showed that the AFMSCs expressed stem cell marker OCT4. AFMSCs could differentiate into bone cells, fat cells and chondrocytes under certain conditions. AFMSCs had the high motility to migrate to ovarian cancer site but didn’t have the tumorigenicity. This study enhances the possibility of AFMSCs as drug carrier in human cell-based therapy. Meanwhile, the research emphasis in the future can also put in targeting therapy of ovarian cancer.     

Epigenetic regulation of amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to the mesodermal lineages at normal and fetus-diseased gestation

Human mesenchymal stem cells isolated from amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs) demonstrate the potency for self-renewal and multidifferentiation, and can, therefore, be a potential alternative source of stem cells adapted for therapeutic purposes. The object of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of MSCs from AF when the pregnancy is normal or when the fetus is affected during pregnancy to differentiate into mesodermal lineage tissues and to elucidate epigenetic states responsible for terminal adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation. The morphology of AF-MSCs from two cell sources and the expression of the cell surface-specific (CD44, CD90, and CD105) markers and pluripotency (Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, and Rex1) genes were quite similar and underwent mesodermal lineage differentiation because this is shown by the typical cell morphology and of genes’ expression specific for adipogenic (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-ɣ, adiponectin) and osteoblastic (alkaline phosphatase, osteopontin, and osteocalcin) differentiation. Terminal lineage-specific differentiation was related to differential expression of miR-17, miR-21, miR-34a, and miR-146a, decreased levels of acetylated H4 and H3K9, trimethylated H3K4 and H3K9, and the retention of H3K27me3 along with a reduction in the levels of HDAC1, DNMT1, and PRC1/2 proteins (BMI1/SUZ12). No significant distinction could be identified in the levels of expression of all epigenetic or pluripotency markers between undifferentiated MSCs isolated from AF of normal gestation and pregnancy where the fetus was damaged and between those differentiated toward adipocytes or osteoblasts. The expressional changes of those marks and microRNAs that occurred during terminal differentiation to mesodermal tissues indicate subtle epigenetic regulation in AF-MSCs when the condition of the fetus is healthy normal or diseased. More detailed studies of epigenetic mechanisms may offer a better understanding of AF-MSCs differentiation in fetus-diseased conditions and their usage in an autologous therapeutic application and prenatal disease research.     

Neurogenic potential of mesenchymal-like stem cells from human amniotic fluid: the influence of extracellular growth factors

Amniotic fluids contain human stem cells, among which mesenchymal stem cells could be isolated. These cells have multipotent differentiation ability and no tumorigenic potential after transplantation in mice. These features make them good candidates for in vitro studies and for therapeutic purposes. The aim of this study was to isolate mesenchymal stem cell-like cultures from different amniotic fluids in order to study in vitro their neurogenic potential and assess if this process could be reproducible and standardized. We focused attention on the possible differential effects of soluble growth factors. Immunophenotypical and molecular characterization showed that the 31 amniotic fluid-derived cultures expressed mesenchymal markers as well as some stemness properties. These cells also appeared to be responsive to purines or acetylcholine showing an intracellular calcium increase, also reported for mesenchymal stem cells derived from other sources. Interestingly, in the presence of retinoic acid, these cells assumed a neuronal-like morphology. In addition, functional and molecular analyses revealed that retinoic acid-treated cells showed immature electric functional properties, the expression of neuronal markers and stemness genes. In conclusion, even if further investigations are required, the results presented here contribute to support the finding that amniotic fluid contains cells able to differentiate in vitro towards neural-like lineage in the presence of retinoic acid. The ability of retinoic acid to induce a possible neuronal progenitor culture makes the model useful to study a possible in vivo transplantation of these cells and to contribute to define the protocols for cell therapy.