title: Immune characterization of mesenchymal stem cells in human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly and derived cartilage cells.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly (hWJMSCs) became prospective seed cell candidate for tissue engineering and cell-based therapy because of its variety source, easy procurement, robust proliferation, and high purity compared with bone marrow- and adipose-derived MSCs. Such neonatal stem cells can be isolated from a variety of extraembryonic tissues and appear to be more primitive and have greater multi-potentiality than their adult counterparts. In this study, we investigated the immune characters of hWJMSCs and its derived cartilage cells (hWJMSC-Cs) by detecting the expression of major histocompatibility complex I/I(MHC-I/II), costimulatory molecules (CD40, CD80 and CD86) and immune inhibitors including human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G), indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). We found that hWJMSCs did not express MHC-II and costimulatory molecules, but moderately expressed MHC-I, and positively expressed immune inhibitors as HLA-G, IDO, PGE2, demonstrating their very low immunogenicity and potential to induce immune tolerance microenvironment in hosts. The results of chondrogenic differentiated hWJMSCs(hWJMSC-Cs) are similar to those of undifferentiated cells, except for the slightly elevated MHC-II and costimulators expression. Additionally, we detected cytokine profile of hWJMSCs through cytokine antibody array and verified by western blot the positive expression of immune suppression-related molecules, HGF, VEGF, TGF, and IL-10. Furthermore, to investigate the in vivo immune response of the cells, hWJMSCs-scaffold constructs were implanted into rabbits and rats, and the result showed that hWJMSCs did not elicit immune rejection in the animals. Their intermediate state between adult and embryonic stem cells makes them an ideal candidate for reprogramming to the pluripotent status. Additional studies are necessary to clarify the potential of hWJMSCs to be used in cartilage and other tissue regeneration and cell-based therapies.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Institute of Orthopedics, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 FuXing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Shuyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Kedong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xifu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shibi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Quanyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002356:Cartilage / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015870:Gene Expression; D059951:HLA-G Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D050503:Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; C066855:HGF protein, human; D059951:HLA-G Antigens; D050503:Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D016753:Interleukin-10; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors; D015232:Dinoprostone