The Phenotype and Functional Activity of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Pediatric Patients with Non-Malignant Hematological Diseases

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2020-02, Vol.9 (2), p.431
• Main Authors: Kuci, Zyrafete, Jordan, Christiane, Wehner, Sibylle, Sörensen, Jan, Jarisch, Andrea, Salzmann-Manrique, Emilia, Pfeffermann, Lisa-Marie, Klingebiel, Thomas, Bader, Peter, Kuҫi, Selim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipocytes - cytology; Adipocytes - metabolism; Adolescent; Anemia, Sickle Cell - metabolism; Anemia, Sickle Cell - pathology; beta-Thalassemia - metabolism; beta-Thalassemia - pathology; Case-Control Studies; CD146 Antigen - metabolism; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell Lineage; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Child; Child, Preschool; Chondrocytes - cytology; Chondrocytes - metabolism; Dinoprostone - metabolism; Female; Humans; Indomethacin - pharmacology; Male; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - metabolism; mesenchymal stromal cells; non-malignant hematological diseases; Osteoblasts - cytology; Osteoblasts - metabolism; Phenotype; severe congenital neutropenia; sickle cell anemia; thalassemia
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells9020431

As the biology of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in patients with non-malignant hematological diseases (NMHD) is poorly understood, in the current study we performed a basic characterization of the phenotype and functional activity of NMHD-MSCs. Bone marrow (BM) of patients with thalassemia major (TM) possessed a significantly higher number of nucleated cells (BM-MNCs)/mL BM than healthy donors ( < 0.0001), which however did not result in a higher number of colony forming units-fibroblast (CFU-F) per milliliter BM. In contrast, from 1 × 10 BM-MNCs of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) were generated significantly more CFU-Fs than from TM-BM-MNCs ( < 0.013) and control group ( < 0.02). In addition, NMHD-MSCs expressed significantly lower levels of CD146 molecule, demonstrated an equal proliferation potential and differentiated along three lineages (osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes) as healthy donors' MSCs, with exception of TM-MSCs which differentiated weakly in adipocytes. In contrast to other NMHD-MSCs and healthy donors' MSCs, TM-MSCs demonstrated an impaired in vitro immunosuppressive potential, either. Noteworthy, the majority of the immunosuppressive effect of NMHD-MSCs was mediated through prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2), because indomethacin (an inhibitor of PGE2 synthesis) was able to significantly reverse this effect. Our results indicate therefore that NMHD-MSCs, except TM-MSCs, may be used as an autologous cell-based therapy for post-transplant complications such as graft failure, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and osteonecrosis.