Stem cells
Abstract
CD34+ bone marrow–derived progenitor cells contribute to tissue repair by differentiating into endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, hematopoietic cells, and possibly other cell types. However, the mechanisms by which circulating progenitor cells home to remodeling tissues remain unclear. Here we show that integrin α4β1 (VLA-4) promotes the homing of circulating progenitor cells to the α4β1 ligands VCAM and cellular fibronectin, which are expressed on actively remodeling neovasculature. Progenitor cells, which express integrin α4β1, homed to sites of active tumor neovascularization but not to normal nonimmune tissues. Antagonists of integrin α4β1, but not other integrins, blocked the adhesion of these cells to endothelia in vitro and in vivo as well as their homing to neovasculature and outgrowth into differentiated cell types. These studies describe an adhesion event that facilitates the homing of progenitor cells to the neovasculature.
Authors
Hui Jin, Aparna Aiyer, Jingmei Su, Per Borgstrom, Dwayne Stupack, Martin Friedlander, Judy Varner
Abstract
Ischemia causes kidney tubular cell damage and abnormal renal function. The kidney is capable of morphological restoration of tubules and recovery of function. Recently, it has been suggested that cells repopulating the ischemically injured tubule derive from bone marrow stem cells. We studied kidney repair in chimeric mice expressing GFP or bacterial β-gal or harboring the male Y chromosome exclusively in bone marrow-derived cells. In GFP chimeras, some interstitial cells but not tubular cells expressed GFP after ischemic injury. More than 99% of those GFP interstitial cells were leukocytes. In female mice with male bone marrow, occasional tubular cells (0.06%) appeared to be positive for the Y chromosome, but deconvolution microscopy revealed these to be artifactual. In β-gal chimeras, some tubular cells also appeared to express β-gal as assessed by X-gal staining, but following suppression of endogenous (mammalian) β-gal, no tubular cells could be found that stained with X-gal after ischemic injury. Whereas there was an absence of bone marrow–derived tubular cells, many tubular cells expressed proliferating cell nuclear antigen, which is reflective of a high proliferative rate of endogenous surviving tubular cells. Upon i.v. injection of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells, postischemic functional renal impairment was reduced, but there was no evidence of differentiation of these cells into tubular cells of the kidney. Thus, our data indicate that bone marrow–derived cells do not make a significant contribution to the restoration of epithelial integrity after an ischemic insult. It is likely that intrinsic tubular cell proliferation accounts for functionally significant replenishment of the tubular epithelium after ischemia.
Authors
Jeremy S. Duffield, Kwon Moo Park, Li-Li Hsiao, Vicki R. Kelley, David T. Scadden, Takaharu Ichimura, Joseph V. Bonventre
Abstract
Ischemic injury to the kidney produces acute tubular necrosis and apoptosis followed by tubular regeneration and recovery of renal function. Although mitotic cells are present in the tubules of postischemic kidneys, the origins of the proliferating cells are not known. Bone marrow cells (BMCs) can differentiate across lineages to repair injured organs, including the kidney. However, the relative contribution of intrarenal cells and extrarenal cells to kidney regeneration is not clear. We produced transgenic mice that expressed enhanced GFP (EGFP) specifically and permanently in mature renal tubular epithelial cells. Following ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), EGFP-positive cells showed incorporation of BrdU and expression of vimentin, which provides direct evidence that the cells composing regenerating tubules are derived from renal tubular epithelial cells. In BMC-transplanted mice, 89% of proliferating epithelial cells originated from host cells, and 11% originated from donor BMCs. Twenty-eight days after IRI, the kidneys contained 8% donor-derived cells, of which 8.4% were epithelial cells, 10.6% were glomerular cells, and 81% were interstitial cells. No renal functional improvement was observed in mice that were transplanted with exogenous BMCs. These results show that intrarenal cells are the main source of renal repair, and a single injection of BMCs does not make a significant contribution to renal functional or structural recovery.
Authors
Fangming Lin, Ashley Moran, Peter Igarashi
Abstract
Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons. ES cells are currently the most promising donor cell source for cell-replacement therapy in PD. We previously described a strong neuralizing activity present on the surface of stromal cells, named stromal cell–derived inducing activity (SDIA). In this study, we generated neurospheres composed of neural progenitors from monkey ES cells, which are capable of producing large numbers of DA neurons. We demonstrated that FGF20, preferentially expressed in the substantia nigra, acts synergistically with FGF2 to increase the number of DA neurons in ES cell–derived neurospheres. We also analyzed the effect of transplantation of DA neurons generated from monkey ES cells into 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine–treated (MPTP-treated) monkeys, a primate model for PD. Behavioral studies and functional imaging revealed that the transplanted cells functioned as DA neurons and attenuated MPTP-induced neurological symptoms.
Authors
Yasushi Takagi, Jun Takahashi, Hidemoto Saiki, Asuka Morizane, Takuya Hayashi, Yo Kishi, Hitoshi Fukuda, Yo Okamoto, Masaomi Koyanagi, Makoto Ideguchi, Hideki Hayashi, Takayuki Imazato, Hiroshi Kawasaki, Hirofumi Suemori, Shigeki Omachi, Hidehiko Iida, Nobuyuki Itoh, Norio Nakatsuji, Yoshiki Sasai, Nobuo Hashimoto
Abstract
The chemokine stromal cell–derived factor–1 (SDF-1) and its receptor, CXCR4, play a major role in migration, retention, and development of hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow. We report the direct involvement of atypical PKC-ζ in SDF-1 signaling in immature human CD34+-enriched cells and in leukemic pre-B acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) G2 cells. Chemotaxis, cell polarization, and adhesion of CD34+ cells to bone marrow stromal cells were found to be PKC-ζ dependent. Overexpression of PKC-ζ in G2 and U937 cells led to increased directional motility to SDF-1. Interestingly, impaired SDF-1–induced migration of the pre-B ALL cell line B1 correlated with reduced PKC-ζ expression. SDF-1 triggered PKC-ζ phosphorylation, translocation to the plasma membrane, and kinase activity. Furthermore we identified PI3K as an activator of PKC-ζ, and Pyk-2 and ERK1/2 as downstream targets of PKC-ζ. SDF-1–induced proliferation and MMP-9 secretion also required PKC-ζ activation. Finally, we showed that in vivo engraftment, but not homing, of human CD34+-enriched cells to the bone marrow of NOD/SCID mice was PKC-ζ dependent and that injection of mice with inhibitory PKC-ζ pseudosubstrate peptides resulted in mobilization of murine progenitors. Our results demonstrate a central role for PKC-ζ in SDF-1–dependent regulation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell motility and development.
Authors
Isabelle Petit, Polina Goichberg, Asaf Spiegel, Amnon Peled, Chaya Brodie, Rony Seger, Arnon Nagler, Ronen Alon, Tsvee Lapidot
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. It is caused by oxygen starvation in the retina inducing aberrant formation of blood vessels that destroy retinal architecture. In humans, vitreal stromal cell–derived factor–1 (SDF-1) concentration increases as proliferative diabetic retinopathy progresses. Treatment of patients with triamcinolone decreases SDF-1 levels in the vitreous, with marked disease improvement. SDF-1 induces human retinal endothelial cells to increase expression of VCAM-1, a receptor for very late antigen–4 found on many hematopoietic progenitors, and reduce tight cellular junctions by reducing occludin expression. Both changes would serve to recruit hematopoietic and endothelial progenitor cells along an SDF-1 gradient. We have shown, using a murine model of proliferative adult retinopathy, that the majority of new vessels formed in response to oxygen starvation originate from hematopoietic stem cell–derived endothelial progenitor cells. We now show that the levels of SDF-1 found in patients with proliferative retinopathy induce retinopathy in our murine model. Intravitreal injection of blocking antibodies to SDF-1 prevented retinal neovascularization in our murine model, even in the presence of exogenous VEGF. Together, these data demonstrate that SDF-1 plays a major role in proliferative retinopathy and may be an ideal target for the prevention of proliferative retinopathy.
Authors
Jason M. Butler, Steven M. Guthrie, Mehmet Koc, Aqeela Afzal, Sergio Caballero, H. Logan Brooks, Robert N. Mames, Mark S. Segal, Maria B. Grant, Edward W. Scott
Abstract
Pluripotent bone marrow–derived side population (BM-SP) stem cells have been shown to repopulate the hematopoietic system and to contribute to skeletal and cardiac muscle regeneration after transplantation. We tested BM-SP cells for their ability to regenerate heart and skeletal muscle using a model of cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy that lacks δ-sarcoglycan. The absence of δ-sarcoglycan produces microinfarcts in heart and skeletal muscle that should recruit regenerative stem cells. Additionally, sarcoglycan expression after transplantation should mark successful stem cell maturation into cardiac and skeletal muscle lineages. BM-SP cells from normal male mice were transplanted into female δ-sarcoglycan–null mice. We detected engraftment of donor-derived stem cells into skeletal muscle, with the majority of donor-derived cells incorporated within myofibers. In the heart, donor-derived nuclei were detected inside cardiomyocytes. Skeletal muscle myofibers containing donor-derived nuclei generally failed to express sarcoglycan, with only 2 sarcoglycan-positive fibers detected in the quadriceps muscle from all 14 mice analyzed. Moreover, all cardiomyocytes with donor-derived nuclei were sarcoglycan-negative. The absence of sarcoglycan expression in cardiomyocytes and skeletal myofibers after transplantation indicates impaired differentiation and/or maturation of bone marrow–derived stem cells. The inability of BM-SP cells to express this protein severely limits their utility for cardiac and skeletal muscle regeneration.
Authors
Karen A. Lapidos, Yiyin E. Chen, Judy U. Earley, Ahlke Heydemann, Jill M. Huber, Marcia Chien, Averil Ma, Elizabeth M. McNally
Abstract
Inherited retinal degenerations afflict 1 in 3,500 individuals and are a heterogeneous group of diseases that result in profound vision loss, usually the result of retinal neuronal apoptosis. Atrophic changes in the retinal vasculature are also observed in many of these degenerations. While it is thought that this atrophy is secondary to diminished metabolic demand in the face of retinal degeneration, the precise relationship between the retinal neuronal and vascular degeneration is not clear. In this study we demonstrate that whenever a fraction of mouse or human adult bone marrow–derived stem cells (lineage-negative hematopoietic stem cells [Lin– HSCs]) containing endothelial precursors stabilizes and rescues retinal blood vessels that would ordinarily completely degenerate, a dramatic neurotrophic rescue effect is also observed. Retinal nuclear layers are preserved in 2 mouse models of retinal degeneration, rd1 and rd10, and detectable, albeit severely abnormal, electroretinogram recordings are observed in rescued mice at times when they are never observed in control-treated or untreated eyes. The normal mouse retina consists predominantly of rods, but the rescued cells after treatment with Lin– HSCs are nearly all cones. Microarray analysis of rescued retinas demonstrates significant upregulation of many antiapoptotic genes, including small heat shock proteins and transcription factors. These results suggest a new paradigm for thinking about the relationship between vasculature and associated retinal neuronal tissue as well as a potential treatment for delaying the progression of vision loss associated with retinal degeneration regardless of the underlying genetic defect.
Authors
Atsushi Otani, Michael Ian Dorrell, Karen Kinder, Stacey K. Moreno, Steven Nusinowitz, Eyal Banin, John Heckenlively, Martin Friedlander
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a common X-linked disease characterized by widespread muscle damage that invariably leads to paralysis and death. There is currently no therapy for this disease. Here we report that a subpopulation of circulating cells expressing AC133, a well-characterized marker of hematopoietic stem cells, also expresses early myogenic markers. Freshly isolated, circulating AC133+ cells were induced to undergo myogenesis when cocultured with myogenic cells or exposed to Wnt-producing cells in vitro and when delivered in vivo through the arterial circulation or directly into the muscles of transgenic scid/mdx mice (which allow survival of human cells). Injected cells also localized under the basal lamina of host muscle fibers and expressed satellite cell markers such as M-cadherin and MYF5. Furthermore, functional tests of injected muscles revealed a substantial recovery of force after treatment. As these cells can be isolated from the blood, manipulated in vitro, and delivered through the circulation, they represent a possible tool for future cell therapy applications in DMD disease or other muscular dystrophies.
Authors
Yvan Torrente, Marzia Belicchi, Maurilio Sampaolesi, Federica Pisati, Mirella Meregalli, Giuseppe D’Antona, Rossana Tonlorenzi, Laura Porretti, Manuela Gavina, Kamel Mamchaoui, Maria Antonietta Pellegrino, Denis Furling, Vincent Mouly, Gillian S. Butler-Browne, Roberto Bottinelli, Giulio Cossu, Nereo Bresolin
Abstract
Several recent reports have demonstrated that transplantation of bone marrow cells can result in the generation of functional hepatocytes. Cellular fusion between bone marrow–derived cells and host hepatocytes has been shown to be the mechanism of this phenomenon. However, the exact identity of the bone marrow cells that mediate cellular fusion has remained undetermined. Here we demonstrate that the hematopoietic progeny of a single hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is sufficient to produce functional hepatic repopulation. Furthermore, transplantation of lymphocyte-deficient bone marrow cells and in vivo fate mapping of the myeloid lineage revealed that HSC-derived hepatocytes are primarily derived from mature myelomonocytic cells. In addition, using a Cre/lox–based strategy, we directly demonstrate that myeloid cells spontaneously fuse with host hepatocytes. Our findings raise the possibility that differentiated myeloid cells may be useful for future therapeutic applications of in vivo cellular fusion.
Authors
Fernando D. Camargo, Milton Finegold, Margaret A. Goodell
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)