Establishment of lentiviral-vector-mediated model of human alpha-1 antitrypsin delivery into hepatocyte-like cells differentiated from mesenchymal stem cells

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a lethal hereditary disorder characterized by a severe diminution in plasma levels of AAT leading to progressive liver dysfunction. Since mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells they offer a potential unlimited source in autologous transplant procedures. The transfer of genetically modified hepatocyte cells derived from hMSCs into the body constitutes a novel paradigm of coupling cell therapy with gene therapy for this disease. hMSCs were isolated by density gradient centrifugation and plastic adherence. Hepatic differentiation was induced by exposing hMSC to induction medium for up to 21 days. The mRNA levels and protein expression of several important hepatic genes were determined using RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. The chimeric AAT-Jred transgene was transferred to differentiated cells using a lentiviral vector and its expression was visualized by fluorescent microscopy. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that hMSCs were obtained. Major hepatocyte marker genes expression were confirmed by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. AAT gene was successfully introduced into hepatocyte-like cells differentiated from hMSCs. This established system could be suitable for generation of hMSC derived hepatocyte-like cells containing the normal AAT gene, thus offering a potential in vitro source of cells for transplantation therapy of liver diseases in AAT-deficient patients.     

The reversal of hyperglycemia after transplantation of mouse embryonic stem cells induced into early hepatocyte-like cells in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Cellular replacement therapy is a potential therapeutic strategy for diabetes. In this study, we investigated the effect of transplantation of induced mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into endoderm and early hepatocyte-like cells in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic mice. After embryoid body (EB) formation from mESC, the EBs were cultured in the presence of dexamethasone (DEX) and insulin for 4 days then was added acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and oncostatin M (OSM) for 10 days, respectively. Blood glucose levels, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance (IGT) test and islet histology were assessed. The result revealed that transplantation of induced mESCs into early hepatocyte-like cells could repair pancreatic islets of control group. Blood glucose levels and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test were significantly improved in test group compared to control group. Furthermore, there was significant increase in the number of islets in test group compared to control group. The findings declare that induced mESCs into endoderm and early hepatocyte-like cells, are appropriate candidate for regenerative therapy of pancreatic islets in type I diabetes.     

Development of a novel beta-cell specific promoter system for the identification of insulin-producing cells in in vitro cell cultures

Recently, it has been reported that islet transplantation into patients with Type 1 diabetes may achieve insulin independence for a year or longer [Shapiro et al., Islet transplantation in seven patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus using a glucocorticoid-free immunosuppressive regimen, N Engl J Med. 343 (2000) 230-238]. However, the amount of donor islet tissue is limited, therefore, multiple approaches are being explored to generate insulin-producing cells in vitro. Some promising results have been obtained using mouse and human stem cells and progenitor cells [Soria et al., From stem cells to beta cells: new strategies in cell therapy of diabetes mellitus, Diabetologia. 4 (2001) 407-415; Lechner et al., Stem/progenitor cells derived from adult tissues: potential for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 284 (2003) 259-266; Bonner-Weir et al., In vitro cultivation of human islets from expanded ductal tissue, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 97 (2000) 7999-8004; Assady et al., Insulin production by human embryonic stem cells, 50 (2001) Diabetes 1691-1697]. However, the efficiency of obtaining populations with high numbers of differentiated cells has been poor. In order to improve the efficiency of producing and selecting insulin-producing cells from undifferentiated cells, we have designed a novel beta-cell specific and glucose responsive promoter system designated pGL3.hINS-363 3x. This artificial promoter system exhibits significant luciferase activity not only in insulin-producing MIN6 m9 cells but also in isolated human islets. The pGL3.hINS-363 3x construct shows no activity in non-insulin-producing cells in low glucose conditions (2 mM glucose) but demonstrates significant activity and beta-cell specificity in high glucose conditions (16 mM glucose). Furthermore, pGL3.hINS-363 3x shows significant promoter activity in differentiated AR42J cells that can produce insulin after activin A and betacellulin treatment. Here, we describe a novel beta-cell specific and glucose responsive artificial promoter system designed for analyzing and sorting beta-like insulin-producing cells that have differentiated from stem cells or other progenitor cells.     

M-CSF诱导人骨髓间充质干细胞分化为肝样细胞的分子机制

本研究主要目的是明确M-CSF诱导骨髓间充质干细胞分化为肝样细胞的分子机制,为临床中的肝移植和治疗肝病提供新思路。对取自于本院骨科治疗的患者的股骨骨髓间充质干细胞进行提取、分离、传代培养及鉴定。流式细胞仪检测BMSCs的表面表型。为了诱导BMSCs的肝分化,本研究将BMSCs加入到培养基中。骨髓间充质干细胞诱导21 d后,BMSCs表达了肝细胞特异性标志物a-蛋白(AFP)和细胞角蛋白18(CK18),通过免疫荧光染色证实了分化与为分化的BMSCs表达的差异性。分化的BMSCs还显示了肝细胞的体外功能特征,包括白蛋白产生、尿素分泌和糖原储存。本研究结果表明,BMSCs在M-CSF诱导下可分化为功能性肝细胞样细胞,可作为肝病治疗的细胞来源。     

Pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells

Liver disease is an important clinical problem, impacting over 30 million Americans and over 600 million people worldwide. It is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States and the 16th worldwide. Due to a paucity of donor organs, several thousand Americans die yearly while waiting for liver transplantation. Unfortunately, alternative tissue sources such as fetal hepatocytes and hepatic cell lines are unreliable, difficult to reproduce, and do not fully recapitulate hepatocyte phenotype and functions. As a consequence, alternative cell sources that do not have these limitations have been sought. Human embryonic stem (hES) cell- and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells may enable cell based therapeutics, the study of the mechanisms of human disease and human development, and provide a platform for screening the efficacy and toxicity of pharmaceuticals. iPS cells can be differentiated in a step-wise fashion with high efficiency and reproducibility into hepatocyte-like cells that exhibit morphologic and phenotypic characteristics of hepatocytes. In addition, iPS-derived hepatocyte-like cells (iHLCs) possess some functional hepatic activity as they secrete urea, alpha-1-antitrypsin, and albumin. However, the combined phenotypic and functional traits exhibited by iHLCs resemble a relatively immature hepatic phenotype that more closely resembles that of fetal hepatocytes rather than adult hepatocytes. Specifically, iHLCs express fetal markers such as alpha-fetoprotein and lack key mature hepatocyte functions, as reflected by drastically reduced activity (~ 0.1%) of important detoxification enzymes (i.e. CYP2A6, CYP3A4). These key differences between iHLCs and primary adult human hepatocytes have limited the use of stem cells as a renewable source of functional adult hepatocytes for in vitro and in vivo applications. Unfortunately, the developmental pathways that control hepatocyte maturation from a fetal into an adult hepatocyte are poorly understood, which has hampered the field in its efforts to induce further maturation of iPS-derived hepatic lineage cells. This review analyzes recent developments in the derivation of hepatocyte-like cells, and proposes important points to consider and assays to perform during their characterization. In the future, we envision that iHLCs will be used as in vitro models of human disease, and in the longer term, provide an alternative cell source for drug testing and clinical therapy.     

Expression of hepatocyte-like phenotypes in bone marrow stromal cells after HGF induction

Bone marrow comprises heterogeneous cell populations, of which certain progenitors have demonstrated the ability to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal cell lineages. This study demonstrates the bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) with intrinsic plasticity to differentiate into hepatocyte-like phenotypes under in vitro induction of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). BMSCs isolated from rat femurs and tibias were cultured and passaged 3-4 times in the presence of HGF. Cells were harvested on days 0, 10, and 20 and subjected to examination of any hepatocyte characteristics by flow cytometry, RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunocytochemistry. Expression of albumin and alpha-fetoprotein at both mRNA and protein levels was detectable on day 10. By contrast, c-Met mRNA was significantly decreased in BMSC in the course of HGF induction. Here BMSC was shown to differentiate into hepatocyte-like phenotypes given the HGF induction, as an alternative source for adult stem cell transplantation in liver repair.     

Differentiation of human adipose stromal cells into hepatic lineage in vitro and in vivo

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells, and hepatic stem cells in liver have been known as a useful source that can induce to differentiate into hepatocytes. In this study, we examined whether human adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (hADSC) can differentiate into hepatic lineage in vitro. hADSC, that were induced to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells by the treatment of HGF and OSM, had morphology similar to hepatocytes. Addition of DMSO enhanced differentiation into hepatocytes. RT-PCR and immunocytochemical analysis showed that hADSC express albumin and alpha-fetoprotein during differentiation. Differentiated hADSC showed LDL uptake and production of urea. Additionally, transplanted hADSC to CCl4-injured SCID mouse model were able to be differentiated into hepatocytes and they expressed albumin in vivo. Mesenchymal stem cells isolated from human adipose tissue are immunocompatible and are easily isolated. Therefore, hADSC may become an alternative source to hepatocyte regeneration or liver cell transplantation.     

A fat option for the pig: Hepatocytic differentiated mesenchymal stem cells for translational research

Study background: Extended liver resection is the only curative treatment option of liver cancer. Yet, the residual liver may not accomplish the high metabolic and regenerative capacity needed, which frequently leads to acute liver failure. Because of their anti-inflammatory and -apoptotic as well as pro-proliferative features, mesenchymal stem cells differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells might provide functional and regenerative compensation. Clinical translation of basic research requires pre-clinical approval in large animals. Therefore, we characterized porcine mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from adipose tissue and bone marrow and their hepatocyte differentiation potential for future assessment of functional liver support after surgical intervention in the pig model.     

Persistence of a chimerical phenotype after hepatocyte differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract.  Objectives : Recent studies have suggested the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to differentiate into a hepatocyte-like lineage. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of hepatocyte differentiation of MSCs by studying acquisition of hepatocyte-like features together with alteration of the native mesenchymal phenotype. Material and methods : In vitro , we have investigated protein and mRNA level expression of hepatocyte and mesenchymal markers of mesenchymal-derived hepatocyte-like cells (MDHLCs) and we have evaluated their functionality using metabolic assays. In vivo , we investigated co-expression of hepatocyte (albumin, α-foetoprotein, cytokeratin 18) and mesenchymal (fibronectin, vimentin) markers after transplantation of MSCs or MDHLCs into severe combined immune deficiency mice. Results : We observed that while in vitro these cells acquired some phenotypic and functional features of mature hepatocytes, they partially preserved their mesenchymal phenotype. After intrasplenic transplantation, engrafted MSCs with isolated expression of fibronectin and α-foetoprotein were observed. When these cells were injected into the liver, they expressed all analysed markers, confirming the chimaeric co-expression observed in vitro . Conversely, liver-engrafted MDHLCs conserved their hepatocyte-lineage markers but lost their chimaeric phenotype. Conclusions : Hepatocyte differentiation of MSCs predominantly allows the acquisition of phenotypic hallmarks and provides chimaeric cells that maintain expression of initial lineage markers. However, advanced maturation to the hepatocyte-like phenotype could be obtained in vivo by conditioning MSCs prior to transplantation or by infusing cells into the liver micro-environment.     

In vitro trans-differentiation of rat mesenchymal cells into insulin-producing cells by rat pancreatic extract

Recent reports have suggested that mesenchymal cells derived from bone marrow may differentiate into not only mesenchymal lineage cells but also other lineage cells. There is possibility for insulin-producing cells (IPCs) to be differentiated from mesenchymal cells. We used self-functional repair stimuli of stem cells by partial injury. Rat pancreatic extract (RPE) from the regenerating pancreas (2 days after 60% pancreatectomy) was treated to rat mesenchymal cells. After the treatment of RPE, they made clusters like islet of Langerhans within a week and expressed four pancreatic endocrine hormones; insulin, glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide, and somatostatin. Moreover, IPCs released insulin in response to normal glucose challenge. Here we demonstrate that the treatment of RPE can differentiate rat mesenchymal cells into IPCs which can be a potential source for the therapy of diabetes.     

Electrospun poly-l-lactic acid/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers improved insulin-producing cell differentiation potential of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Combination of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and synthetic materials in terms of pancreatic tissue engineering can be considered as a treatment of diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the differentiation of human ADSCs to pancreatic cells on poly-l -lactic acid/polyvinyl alcohol (PLLA/PVA) nanofibers as a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were characterized for mesenchymal surface markers by flow cytometry. Then ADSCs were seeded on 3D scaffolds and treated with pancreatic differentiation medium. Immunostaining assay showed that ADSCs were very efficiently differentiated into a relatively homogeneous population of insulin-producing cells. Moreover, real-time RT-PCR results revealed that pancreas-specific markers were highly expressed in 3D scaffolds compared with their expression in tissue culture plates and this difference in expression level was significant. In addition, insulin and C-peptide secreted in response to varying concentrations of glucose in the 3D scaffold group was significantly higher than that in 2D culture. The results of the present study confirmed that PLLA/PVA scaffold seeded with ADSCs could be a suitable option in pancreatic tissue engineering.     

间充质干细胞诱导分化为胰岛分泌细胞治疗1型糖尿病

糖尿病是严重危害人类健康的一类疾病,注射胰岛素和胰岛移植虽能用于治疗糖尿病,但都存在一定的局限性。大量研究表明,间充质干细胞（mesenchymal stem cell,MSC）可以在化学以及生物因子的作用下,或通过基因转染的方式在体外被诱导分化为胰岛素分泌细胞,且移植后对糖尿病鼠模型有一定降血糖效果,因而成为糖尿病治疗领域的研究热点。文章综述了不同来源的MSC诱导分化为胰岛分泌细胞（insulin—producing cells,IPC）的方法及诱导分化后用于治疗1型糖尿病的研究进展。     

Characterizing the degeneration of nuclear membrane and mitochondria of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells from patients with type II diabetes

Regenerative therapeutic approaches involving the transplantation of stem cells differentiated into insulin-producing cells are being studied in patients with rapidly progressing severe diabetes. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells have been reported to have varied cellular characteristics depending on the biological environment of the location from which they were harvested. However, the characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells in type II diabetes have not been clarified. In this study, we observed the organelles of mesenchymal stem cells from patients with type II diabetes under a transmission electron microscope to determine the structure of stem cells in type II diabetes. Transmission electron microscopic observation of mesenchymal stem cells from healthy volunteers (N-ADSC) and those from patients with type II diabetes (T2DM-ADSC) revealed enlarged nuclei and degenerated mitochondrial cristae in T2DM-ADSCs. Moreover, T2DM-ADSCs were shown to exhibit a lower expression of Emerin, a constituent protein of the nuclear membrane, and a decreased level of mitochondrial enzyme activity. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the altered structure of nuclear membrane and the decreased mitochondrial enzyme activity in adipose-derived mesenchymal cells from patients with type II diabetes. These findings have contributed to the understanding of type II diabetes-associated changes in mesenchymal stem cells used for regenerative therapy.     

Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to insulin-producing cells and their impact on type 1 diabetic rats

Cell therapy is thought to be a possible approach for treatment of diabetes. Cells with the ability to differentiate into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) would provide an unlimited source of islet cells for transplantation. In this study, the differentiation capacity of rat bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to IPCs and the feasibility of using them for reversal of hyperglycemia were investigated. In vitro studies indicated that treatment of cells with high glucose concentration, nicotinamide and β-mercaptoethanol resulted to differentiated cells, which had characteristics of IPCs including spherical, grape-like morphology, secretion of insulin, and being positive for dithizone. To test the in vivo function of differentiated MSCs, they were injected into the spleen of diabetic rats. It was shown that diabetic rats who received IPCs, significantly reduced the glucose level, in response to intraperitoneal glucose tolerance (IPGT) test. These results indicate that MSCs are capable of in vitro differentiation into functional IPCs, which can reverse hyperglycemia in rat model of diabetes.     

Generation of insulin-producing cells from gnotobiotic porcine skin-derived stem cells

A major problem in the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus is the limited availability of alternative sources of insulin-producing cells for islet transplantation. In this study, we investigated the effect of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4) treatments of gnotobiotic porcine skin-derived stem cells (gSDSCs) on their reprogramming and subsequent differentiation into insulin-producing cells (IPCs). We isolated SDSCs from the ear skin of a gnotobiotic pig. During the proliferation period, the cells expressed stem-cell markers Oct-4, Sox-2, and CD90; nestin expression also increased significantly. The cells could differentiate into IPCs after treatments with activin-A, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and nicotinamide. After 15 days in the differentiation medium, controlled gSDSCs began expressing endocrine progenitor genes and proteins (Ngn3, Neuro-D, PDX-1, NKX2.2, NKX6.1, and insulin). The IPCs showed increased insulin synthesis after glucose stimulation. The results indicate that stem cells derived from the skin of gnotobiotic pigs can differentiate into IPCs under the appropriate conditions in vitro. Our three-stage induction protocol could be applied without genetic modification to source IPCs from stem cells in the skin of patients with diabetes for autologous transplantation.