Limbal stem cell (LSC) deficiency is a visually debilitating condition caused by abnormal maintenance of LSCs. It is treated by transplantation of donor-derived limbal epithelial cells (LECs), the success of which depends on the presence and quality of LSCs within the transplant. Understanding the immunobiological responses of these cells within the transplants could improve cell engraftment and survival. However, human corneal rings used as a source of LSCs are not always readily available for research purposes. As an alternative, we hypothesized that a human telomerase-immortalized corneal epithelial cell (HTCEC) line could be used as a model for studying LSC immunobiology. HTCEC constitutively expressed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I but not class II molecules. However, when stimulated by interferon-γ, HTCECs then expressed HLA class II antigens. Some HTCECs were also migratory in response to CXCL12 and expressed stem cell markers, Nanog, Oct4, and Sox2. In addition because both HTCECs and LECs contain side population (SP) cells, which are an enriched LSC population, we used these SP cells to show that some HTCEC SP cells coexpressed ABCG2 and ABCB5. HTCEC SP and non-side population (NSP) cells also expressed CXCR4, but the SP cells expressed higher levels. Both were capable of colony formation, but the NSP colonies were smaller and contained fewer cells. In addition, HTCECs expressed ΔNp63α. These results suggest the HTCEC line is a useful model for further understanding LSC biology by using an in vitro approach without reliance on a supply of human tissue. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:761-766.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely considered for treatment of pulmonary fibrosis based on the anti-inflammatory, antifibrotic, antiapoptotic, and regenerative properties of the cells. Recently, elevated levels of oncostatin M (OSM) have been reported in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a pulmonary fibrosis animal model and in patients. In this work, we aimed to prolong engrafted MSC survival and to enhance the effectiveness of pulmonary fibrosis transplantation therapy by using OSM-preconditioned MSCs. OSM-preconditioned MSCs were shown to overexpress type 2 OSM receptor (gp130/OSMRβ) and exhibited high susceptibility to OSM, resulting in upregulation of the paracrine factor, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Moreover, OSM-preconditioned MSCs enhanced cell proliferation and migration, attenuated transforming growth factor-β1- or OSM-induced extracellular matrix production in MRC-5 fibroblasts through paracrine effects. In bleomycin-induced lung fibrotic mice, transplantation of OSM-preconditioned MSCs significantly improved pulmonary respiratory functions and downregulated expression of inflammatory factors and fibrotic factors in the lung tissues. Histopathologic examination indicated remarkable amelioration of the lung fibrosis. LacZ-tagged MSCs were detected in the lung tissues of the OSM-preconditioned MSC-treated mice 18 days after post-transplantation. Taken together, our data further demonstrated that HGF upregulation played an important role in mediating the therapeutic effects of transplanted OSM-preconditioned MSCs in alleviating lung fibrosis in the mice. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1006-1017.
Biomaterials provide novel platforms to deliver stem cell and growth factor therapies for central nervous system (CNS) repair. The majority of these approaches have focused on the promotion of neural progenitor cells and neurogenesis. However, it is now increasingly recognized that glial responses are critical for recovery in the entire neurovascular unit. In this study, we investigated the cellular effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) containing hydrogels on primary astrocyte cultures. Both EGF alone and EGF-hydrogel equally promoted astrocyte proliferation, but EGF-hydrogels further enhanced astrocyte activation, as evidenced by a significantly elevated Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene expression. Thereafter, conditioned media from astrocytes activated by EGF-hydrogel protected neurons against injury and promoted synaptic plasticity after oxygen-glucose deprivation. Taken together, these findings suggest that EGF-hydrogels can shift astrocytes into neuro-supportive phenotypes. Consistent with this idea, quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) demonstrated that EGF-hydrogels shifted astrocytes in part by downregulating potentially negative A1-like genes (Fbln5 and Rt1-S3) and upregulating potentially beneficial A2-like genes (Clcf1, Tgm1, and Ptgs2). Further studies are warranted to explore the idea of using biomaterials to modify astrocyte behavior and thus indirectly augment neuroprotection and neuroplasticity in the context of stem cell and growth factor therapies for the CNS. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019;8:1242&1248.