骨髓间充质干细胞在组织工程研究中的应用新进展

骨髓间充质干细胞又称为骨髓源性间充质干细胞,是指存在于骨髓基质细胞系统中的一类干细胞,具有高度稳定的体外扩增能力和多向分化潜能等特点。骨髓间充质干细胞因其取材方便,易于分离和培养,以及在适当条件下可诱导分化为皮肤、骨骼、内脏、血液、神经等多种组织细胞的独特优势,目前被广泛应用于药物开发、免疫调节、组织修复、器官重建等多个研究领域。近年来,骨髓间充质干细胞作为种子细胞在组织工程领域有着非常诱人的潜在应用前景。本文就骨髓间充质干细胞在组织工程学研究中应用的最新进展作一综述。     

骨髓间充质干细胞向肝细胞分化的相关细胞因子及信号通路的研究进展

骨髓干细胞包括造血干细胞（HSCs）和间充质干细胞（MSCs）,骨髓间充质干细胞（BMSCs）是一类具有自我更新、增殖和多向分化能力的细胞,具有不对称分裂和无限增殖的特点。在肝细胞生长因子（HGF）的作用下,BMSCs可以分化为肝细胞,参与诱导这一分化过程的相关信号通路包括NF-kB信号通路、Notch信号通路、MAPK信号通路、Wnt信号通路和STAT3信号通路。文章主要就BMSCs分化为肝细胞的相关信号通路进行了综述。     

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into urothelial cells and the implications for reconstructing urinary bladder mucosa

To determine the ability of cultured bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to differentiate into functional urothelium. BMSCs were isolated from the long bones of aborted fetal limbs by Percoll density gradient centrifugation and characterized by flow cytometry. Human fetal urinary bladders were cut into small pieces and cultured for 3–5 days until the growth of urothelial cells was established. BMSCs were then cocultured with neonatal urothelial cells and subsequently evaluated for antigen expression and ultramicrostructure, by immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy, respectively. A subset of BMSCs expressed the differentiation marker CD71. The BMSC markers CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR were barely detectable, confirming that these cells were not derived from hematopoietic stem cells or differentiated cells. In contrast, the stem cell markers CD29, CD44, CD105, and CD90 were highly expressed. BMSCs possessed the ability to differentiate into a variety of cellular subtypes, including osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes. The shapes of BMSCs changed, and the size of the cells increased, following in vitro coculture with urothelial cells. After 2 weeks of coculture, immunostaining of the newly differentiated BMSCs positively displayed the urothelial-specific keratin marker. Electron microscopy revealed that the cocultured BMSCs had microstructural features characteristic of epithelial cells. Pluripotent BMSCs can transdifferentiate into urothelial cells in response to an environment conditioned by neonatal urothelial cells, providing a means for the time-, labor- and cost-effective reconstruction of urinary bladder mucosa.     

DDR2基因缺失对小鼠骨髓间充质干细胞生物学特性的影响

目的:骨髓间充质干细胞(Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells,BMSCs)是骨再生工程中重要的种子细胞,它对骨组织缺损的修复有着良好的效果。但是BMSCs向成骨细胞分化并修复骨组织缺损是是由细胞外因子共同作用产生的结果。DDR2(Discoidin Domain Receptor 2)作为I型胶原的特异性受体在成骨细胞的分化中发挥重要的调节作用。而对于其在BMSCs向成骨细胞的分化过程中的所起到的作用还鲜有研究,对其作用机理尚不明确。因此我们希望通过分离、培养并鉴定比较DDR2基因缺失小鼠与野生型小鼠来源的骨髓间充质干细胞了解其生物学特性,为后续的实验奠定理论基础。方法:采用改良型的全骨髓贴壁细胞分离方法分离培养两种小鼠来源的骨髓间充质干细胞,采用流式细胞技术鉴定其表面标记物的表达,并利用诱导培养液诱导骨髓间充质干细胞向成骨细胞和成脂肪细胞分化。结果:分离培养的两种骨髓间充质干细胞形态一致,增殖能力和自我更新能力强,流式细胞术检测其表面标记物CD29,Sca-1均表达阳性,CD105,CD45表达为阴性,分离得到的两种细胞均有向成骨细胞和成脂肪细胞分化的能力,但可以明显观察到DDR2基因缺失小鼠的骨髓间充质干细胞的成骨分化能力减弱。结论:本实验通过对于DDR2基因缺失小鼠BMSCs分离、培养和鉴定,初步探索DDR2基因缺失在在成骨过程中的作用结果,为进一步研究提高BMSCs的成骨分化能力奠定理论基础。经实验证明,DDR2基因缺失小鼠来源的骨髓间充质干细胞虽然仍具备干细胞的生物学特性,但其向成骨细胞的分化能力明显减弱,说明DDR2基因缺失对其骨髓间充质干细胞的成骨分化等有着重要的影响。     

Overexpression of β-NGF promotes differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neurons through regulation of AKT and MAPK pathway

Bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) are fibroblastic in shape and capable of self-renewal and have the potential for multi-directional differentiation. Nerve growth factor (NGF), a homodimeric polypeptide, plays an important role in the nervous system by supporting the survival and growth of neural cells, regulating cell growth, promoting differentiation into neuron, and neuron migration. Adenoviral vectors are DNA viruses that contain 36 kb of double-stranded DNA allowing for transmission of the genes to the host nucleus but not inserting them into the host chromosome. The present study aimed to investigate the induction efficiency and differentiation of neural cells from BMSCs by β-NGF gene transfection with recombinant adenoviral vector (Ad-β-NGF) in vitro. The results of immunochemical assay confirmed the induced cells as neuron cells. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis, Annexin-V-FITC/PI, and BrdU assay revealed that chemical inducer β-mercaptoethanol (β-met) triggered apoptosis of BMSCs, as evidenced by inhibition of DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, translocation of phospholipid phosphatidylserine, and activation of caspase-3. Furthermore, the results of western blotting showed that β-met suppressed AKT signaling pathway and regulated the MAPKs during differentiation of BMSCs. In contrast, Ad-β-NGF effectively induced the differentiation of BMSCs without causing any cytopathic phenomenon and apoptotic cell death. Moreover, Ad-β-NGF recovered the expression level of phosphorylated AKT and MAPKs in cells exposed to chemical reagents. Taken together, these results suggest that β-NGF gene transfection promotes the differentiation of BMSCs into neurons through regulation of AKT and MAPKs signaling pathways.     

Differentiation and regenerative capacities of human odontoma-derived mesenchymal cells

Regenerating human tooth ex vivo and biological repair of dental caries are hampered by non-viable odontogenic stem cells that can regenerate different tooth components. Odontoma is a developmental dental anomaly that may contain putative post-natal stem cells with the ability to differentiate and regenerate in vivo new dental structures that may include enamel, dentin, cementum and pulp tissues. We evaluated odontoma tissues from 14 patients and further isolated and characterized human odontoma-derived mesenchymal cells (HODCs) with neural stem cell and hard tissue regenerative properties from a group of complex odontoma tissues from 1 of 14 patients. Complex odontoma was more common (9 of 14) than compound type and females (9 of 14) were more affected than males in our set of patients. HODCs were highly proliferative like dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) but demonstrated stronger neural immunophenotype than both DPSCs and mandible bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) by expressing higher levels of nestin, Sox 2 and βIII-tubulin. When transplanted with hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate into immunocompromised mice, HODCs differentiated and regenerated calcified hard tissues in vivo that were morphologically and quantitatively comparable to those generated by DPSCs and BMSCs. When transplanted with polycaprolactone (biodegradable carrier), HODCs differentiated to form new predentin on the surface of a dentin platform. Newly formed predentin contained numerous distinct dentinal tubules and an apparent dentin–pulp arrangement. HODCs represent unique odontogenic progenitors that readily commit to formation of dental hard tissues.     

干细胞向甲状旁腺细胞的分化及在甲状旁腺功能减退中的研究进展

干细胞是一类能够自我复制、自我更新,具有多向分化潜能,能产生多种分化细胞类型的细胞,由于它的自我复制和多向分化潜能,干细胞技术已经被广泛的应用于细胞移植治疗中。甲状旁腺功能减退作为一种内分泌疾病,目前的治疗方案都不能从根本上治疗该疾病。因此应用干细胞来源的甲状旁腺细胞移植治疗甲状旁腺功能减退越来越受到医学界的重视。目前,已有科研团队报道了应用胚胎干细胞（ESCs）、胸腺上皮细胞和扁桃体间充质细胞向甲状旁腺细胞分化及其在甲状旁腺功能减退中的治疗。本文将干细胞向甲状旁腺细胞的分化及在甲状旁腺功能减退治疗中的研究进展进行综述。     

Osteogenic potential: comparison between bone marrow and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Bone tissue engineering(BTE) is now a promising re-search issue to improve the drawbacks from traditional bone grafting procedure such as limited donor sources and possible complications. Stem cells are one of the major factors in BTE due to the capability of self re-newal and multi-lineage differentiation. Unlike embry-onic stem cells, which are more controversial in ethical problem, adult mesenchymal stem cells are considered to be a more appropriate cell source for BTE. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) are the ear-liest-discovered and well-known stem cell source using in BTE. However, the low stem cell yield requiring long expansion time in vitro, pain and possible morbidities during bone marrow aspiration and poor proliferation and osteogenic ability at old age impede its' clinical ap-plication. Afterwards, a new stem cell source coming from adipose tissue, so-called adipose-derived stemcells(ASCs), is found to be more suitable in clinical ap-plication because of high stem cells yield from lipoaspi-rates, faster cell proliferation and less discomfort and morbidities during harvesting procedure. However, the osteogenic capacity of ASCs is now still debated be-cause most papers described the inferior osteogenesis of ASCs than BMSCs. A better understanding of the osteogenic differences between ASCs and BMSCs is crucial for future selection of cells in clinical application for BTE. In this review, we describe the commonality and difference between BMSCs and ASCs by cell yield, cell surface markers and multiple-differentiation poten-tial. Then we compare the osteogenic capacity in vitro and bone regeneration ability in vivo between BMSCs and ASCs based on the literatures which utilized both BMSCs and ASCs simultaneously in their articles. The outcome indicated both BMSCs and ASCs exhibited the osteogenic ability to a certain extent both in-vitro and in-vivo. However, most in-vitro study papers verified the inferior osteogenesis of ASCs; conversely, in-vivo research reviews revealed more controversies in this issue. We expect the new researchers can have a quick understanding of the progress in this filed and design a more comprehensive research based on this review.     

Comparative capability of menstrual blood versus bone marrow derived stem cells in neural differentiation

In order to characterize the potency of menstrual blood stem cells (MenSCs) for future cell therapy of neurological disorders instead of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) as a well-known and conventional source of adult stem cells, we examined the in vitro differentiation potential of these stem cells into neural-like cells. The differentiation potential of MenSCs to neural cells in comparison with BMSCs was assessed under two step neural differentiation including conversion to neurosphere-like cells and final differentiation. The expression levels of Nestin, Microtubule-associated protein 2, gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1 and 2, and Tubulin, beta 3 class III mRNA and/or protein were up-regulated during development of MenSCs into neurosphere-like cells (NSCs) and neural-like cells. The up-regulation level of these markers in differentiated neural-like cells from MenSCs was comparable with differentiated cells from BMSCs. Moreover, both differentiated MenSCs and BMSCs expressed high levels of potassium, calcium and sodium channel genes developing functional channels with electrophysiological recording. For the first time, we demonstrated that MenSCs are a unique cell population with differentiation ability into neural-like cells comparable to BMSCs. In addition, we have introduced an approach to generate NSCs from MenSCs and BMSCs and their further differentiation into neural-like cells in vitro. Our results hold a promise to future stem cell therapy of neurological disorders using NSCs derived from menstrual blood, an accessible source in every woman.     

组织工程中应力对骨髓间充质干细胞分化为成骨细胞的影响

骨髓间充质干细胞具有自我复制、未分化的特点,并可在不同条件下分化为中胚层起源的多种细胞,是一种成体多能干细胞。就组织工程而言,良好的种子细胞是组织工程技术的关键,骨髓间充质干细胞的性质决定了其在骨组织工程领域中的重要地位。此外,骨骼系统属于机体的运动系统,承担体重是骨骼的重要功能之一;而且,人体内几乎所有的细胞都会受到力学因素的影响,故有必要研究力学因素对骨髓间充质干细胞诱导分化为成骨细胞的作用,为骨髓间充质干细胞的体外扩增、诱导分化及培养提供一种新途径。     

Direct contacts with colon cancer cells regulate the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into tumor associated fibroblasts

Tumor–stroma interactions are referred to as essential events in tumor progression. There has been growing attention that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can travel to tumor stroma, where they differentiate into tumor-associated fibroblast (TAF)-like cells, a predominant tumor-promoting stromal cell. However, little is definitively known about the contributors for this transition. Here, using an in vitro direct co-culture model of colon cancer cells and BMSCs, we identify that colon cancer cells can induce adjoining BMSCs to exhibit the typical characteristic of TAFs, with increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Importantly, the present data also reveals that activated Notch signaling mediates transformation of BMSCs to TAFs through the downstream TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.     

Fibrin patch-based insulin-like growth factor-1 gene-modified stem cell transplantation repairs ischemic myocardium

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), tissue-engineered cardiac patch, and therapeutic gene have all been proposed as promising therapy strategies for cardiac repair after myocardial infarction. In our study, BMSCs were modified with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) gene, loaded into a fibrin patch, and then transplanted into a porcine model of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) myocardium injury. The results demonstrated that IGF-1 gene overexpression could promote proliferation of endothelial cells and cardiomyocyte-like differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. Four weeks after transplantation of fibrin patch loaded with gene-modified BMSCs, IGF-1 overexpression could successfully promote angiogenesis, inhibit remodeling, increase grafted cell survival and reduce apoptosis. In conclusion, the integrated strategy, which combined fibrin patch with IGF-1 gene modified BMSCs, could promote the histological cardiac repair for a clinically relevant porcine model of I/R myocardium injury.     

定量分析诱导山羊体细胞重编程过程中端粒酶的表达变化

动物体细胞重编程为诱导多能干细胞(iPS)是目前干细胞生物学研究的热点。文中重点对山羊体细胞重编程过程中端粒酶(TERT)基因的相对表达量进行了检测,探讨了山羊重编程细胞的形成与端粒酶基因表达的关系。从关中奶山羊胎儿皮肤分离得到的胎儿成纤维细胞(GEF),其增殖能力较强,核型正常(60条XY),通过转录因子在体外诱导得到山羊重编程细胞。利用Real-timeRT-PCR方法首先对关中奶山羊胎儿各种组织的TERT表达进行了检测,结果表明睾丸组织中TERT的表达显著高于上皮组织(P0.01),在山羊胎儿的其他组织中TERT也有不同程度的表达。对原代重编程细胞和4株不完全重编程细胞株的TERT表达检测结果发现,碱性磷酸酶(AP)阳性的重编程细胞端粒酶表达量要显著高于AP阴性的重编程细胞(P0.01)。这一结果揭示,激活端粒酶活性并使其保持较高的表达水平对体细胞的重编程至关重要。     

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhance angiogenesis via their α6β1 integrin receptor

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) facilitate the angiogenic response of endothelial cells (ECs) within three-dimensional (3D) matrices in vivo and in engineered tissues in vitro in part through paracrine mediators and by acting as stabilizing pericytes. However, the molecular interactions between BMSCs and nascent tubules during the process of angiogenesis are not fully understood. In this study, we have used a tractable 3D co-culture model to explore the functional role of the α6β1 integrin adhesion receptor on BMSCs in sprouting angiogenesis. We report that knockdown of the α6 integrin subunit in BMSCs significantly reduces capillary sprouting, and causes their failure to associate with the nascent vessels. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the BMSCs with attenuated α6 integrin proliferate at a significantly lower rate relative to either control cells expressing non-targeting shRNA or wild type BMSCs; however, despite adding more cells to compensate for this deficit in proliferation, deficient sprouting persists. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the α6 integrin subunit in BMSCs is important for their ability to stimulate vessel morphogenesis. This conclusion may have important implications in the optimization of cell-based strategies to promote angiogenesis.     

Adipose-derived stem cells alleviate osteoporosis by enchancing osteogenesis and inhibiting adipogenesis in a rabbit model

Background aimsOsteoporosis (OP) is characterized by a reduction in bone quality, which is associated with inadequacies in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs). As an alternative cell source to BMSCs, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been investigated for bone repair because of their osteogenic potential and self-renewal capability. Nevertheless, whether autologous ASCs can be used to promote bone regeneration under osteoporotic conditions has not been elucidated.MethodsThe OP rabbit model was established by means of bilateral ovariectomy (OVX). Both BMSCs and ASCs were harvested from OVX rabbits and expanded in vitro. The effects of osteogenic-induced ASCs on the in vitro adipogenic and osteogenic capabilities of BMSCs were evaluated. Autologous ASCs were then encapsulated by calcium alginate gel and transplanted into the distal femurs of OVX rabbits (n = 12). Hydrogel without loading cells was injected into the contralateral femurs as a control. Animals were killed for investigation at 12 weeks after transplantation.ResultsOsteogenic-induced ASCs were able to promote osteogenesis and inhibit adipogenesis of osteoporotic BMSCs through activation of the bone morphogenetic protein 2/bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IB signal pathway. Local bone mineral density began to increase at 8 weeks after ASC transplantation (P < 0.05). At 12 weeks, micro–computed tomography and histological evaluation revealed more new bone formation in the cell-treated femurs than in the control group (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that ASCs could stimulate proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro and enhance bone regeneration in vivo, which suggests that autologous osteogenic-induced ASCs might be useful to alleviate OP temporally.     

Malignant transformation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells treated with 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide

Recent studies indicated that extensive culture of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can lead to malignant transformation, supporting the concept that tumor may originate from adult stem cells. Also, neoplastic transformation of BMSCs induced by virus and ionizing radiation were verified. However, the capacity for BMSCs to become mutated by chemical carcinogens and become precursors of cancer is still poorly understood. In this study, BMSCs were used to test the hypothesis that tumorigenesis can originate from the mutation of stem cells induced by chemical carcinogen. BMSCs were intermittently treated with 10^?6 M 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) from population doublings level (PDL) 3 until senescence occurred. Proliferation data demonstrated that BMSCs treated with 4-NQO bypassed the senescence phase and exhibited unlimited proliferation and anchorage independence. These cells underwent a malignant transformation that resulted in tumor formation in 12/12 immunodeficient mice that received the cells by tail vein injection. In contrast, spontaneous transformation of BMSCs was observed in 6/12 immunodeficient mice injected with BMSCs that had been cultured over PDL 30 in vitro. For both BMSCs treated with 4-NQO, and BMSCs maintained in long-term culture, their transformation into neoplastic cells was found to involve chromosomal abnormalities, increased telomerase activity, and reduced, or absent, expression of p53. Our results also indicate that BMSCs are susceptible to carcinogen-induced malignant transformation rather than spontaneous transformation. Therefore, carcinogen-induced BMSCs transformation models may be ideal for studying mechanisms associated with the promotion of tumor formation by chemical carcinogens.     

Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are resistant to HBV infection during differentiation into hepatocytes in vivo and in vitro

Hepatocyte-like cells induced from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) recover liver function in animal models with liver failure. Our initial findings revealed that human BMSCs improved liver function in hepatitis B patients with end stage liver disease. However, the susceptibility of BMSCs to HBV infection during induction toward hepatocytes remains unknown. We have assessed whether BMSCs-derived hepatocyte-like cells can function like liver cells and be infected by HBV. A new and efficient way to direct the differentiation of BMSCs into functional hepatocytes was developed. BMSCs obtained from hepatitis B patients were induced to differentiate into hepatocytes through exposure to HGF, FGF-4, and EGF. After 6 days of exposure, BMSCs-derived hepatocyte-like cells that expressed a subset of hepatic genes and showed hepatic functions were obtained. HBV was used to infect the differentiated cells, and subsequently these cells were assayed for the presence of HBeAg, HBsAg, and HBV DNA. BMSCs proved resistant to HBV infection, both in vitro and during differentiation into hepatocytes in vitro. This demonstrates that BMSCs are resistant to HBV infection. BMSCs are viable for transplantation and should facilitate further research exploring the in vivo HBV-resistance of the hepatocytes derived from BMSCs after transplantation, a characteristic that could form the basis for hepatocyte transplantation.     

Homing and Restorative Effects of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Cisplatin Injured Ovaries in Rats

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a long-term adverse effect of chemotherapy treatment. However, current available treatment regimens are not optimal. Emerging evidence suggests that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) could restore the structure and function of injured tissues, but the homing and restorative effects of BMSCs on chemotherapy injured ovaries are still not clear. In this study, we found that granulosa cell (GC) apoptosis induced by cisplatin was reduced when BMSCs were migrated to granulosa cells (GCs) in vitro. Chemotherapy-induced POF was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin in rats. BMSCs labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were injected into the rats via the tail vein to investigate the homing and distribution of BMSCs in vivo. The number of BMSCs in the ovarian hilum and medulla was greater than in the cortex, but no BMSCs were found in the follicles and corpus lutea. In addition, the BMSCs treatment group’s antral follicle count and estradiol levels increased after 30 days, compared with the POF group. Hence, our study demonstrates that intravenously delivered BMSCs can home to the ovaries, and restore its structure and function in POF model rats.