Engineered human mesenchymal stem cells: a novel platform for skeletal cell mediated gene therapy.
BACKGROUND
Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are pluripotent cells that can differentiate to various mesenchymal cell types. Recently, a method to isolate hMSCs from bone marrow and expand them in culture was described. Here we report on the use of hMSCs as a platform for gene therapy aimed at bone lesions.


METHODS
Bone marrow derived hMSCs were expanded in culture and infected with recombinant adenoviral vector encoding the osteogenic factor, human BMP-2. The osteogenic potential of genetically engineered hMSCs was assessed in vitro and in vivo.


RESULTS
Genetically engineered hMSCs displayed enhanced proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in culture. In vivo, transplanted genetically engineered hMSCs were able to engraft and form bone and cartilage in ectopic sites, and regenerate bone defects (non-union fractures) in mice radius bone. Importantly, the same results were obtained with hMSCs isolated from a patient suffering from osteoporosis.


CONCLUSIONS
hMSCs represent a novel platform for skeletal gene therapy and the present results suggest that they can be genetically engineered to express desired therapeutic proteins inducing specific differentiation pathways. Moreover, hMSCs obtained from osteoporotic patients can restore their osteogenic activity following human BMP-2 gene transduction, an important finding in the future planning of gene therapy treatment for osteoporosis.
Turgeman
G
G
Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical and Gene Therapy Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Pittman
D D
DD
Müller
R
R
Kurkalli
B G
BG
Zhou
S
S
Pelled
G
G
Peyser
A
A
Zilberman
Y
Y
Moutsatsos
I K
IK
Gazit
D
D
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001846:Bone Development / Q000235:genetics; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013234:Stem Cells; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta
C525718:BMP2 protein, human; C525719:Bmp2 protein, mouse; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; C499469:recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2