title: Erythropoietin gene-enhanced marrow mesenchymal stromal cells decrease cisplatin-induced kidney injury and improve survival of allogeneic mice.
abstract: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are promising for regenerative medicine applications, such as for renoprotection and repair in acute kidney injury (AKI). Erythropoietin (Epo) can also exert cytoprotective effects on various tissues including the kidney. We hypothesized that MSCs gene-enhanced to secrete Epo may produce a significant beneficial effect in AKI. Mouse Epo-secreting MSCs were generated, tested in vitro, and then implanted by intraperitoneal injection in allogeneic mice previously administered cisplatin to induce AKI. Epo-MSCs significantly improved survival of implanted mice as compared to controls (67% survival versus 33% with Vehicle only). Also, Epo-MSCs led to significantly better kidney function as shown by lower levels of blood urea nitrogen (72 ± 9.5 mg/dl versus 131 ± 9.20 mg/dl) and creatinine (74 ± 17 µmol/l versus 148±19.4 µmol/l). Recipient mice also showed significantly decreased amylase and alanine aminotransferase blood concentrations. Kidney sections revealed significantly less apoptotic cells and more proliferating cells. Furthermore, PCR revealed the presence of implanted cells in recipient kidneys, with Epo-MSCs leading to significantly increased expression of Epo and of phosphorylated-Akt (Ser473) (P-Akt) in these kidneys. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that Epo gene-enhanced MSCs exert significant tissue protective effects in allogeneic mice with AKI, and supports the potential use of gene-enhanced cells as universal donors in acute injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Research, McGill University, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. neliopou@ldi.jgh.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eliopoulos
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Forner
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Birman
authors.forename: Yoon Kow
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Manaf
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouchentouf
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002945:Cisplatin; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000494:pharmacology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000235:genetics*; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D004921:Erythropoietin; D002945:Cisplatin