Urine-derived stem cells serve as a robust platform for generating native or engineered extracellular vesicles.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy holds great potential yet efficacy and safety concerns with cell therapy persist. The beneficial effects of MSCs are often attributed to their secretome that includes extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs carry biologically active molecules, protected by a lipid bilayer. However, several barriers hinder large-scale MSC EV production. A serum-free culturing approach is preferred for producing clinical-grade MSC-derived EVs but this can affect both yield and purity. Consequently, new strategies have been explored, including genetically engineering MSCs to alter EV compositions to enhance potency, increase circulation time or mediate targeting. However, efficient transfection of MSCs is challenging. Typical sources of MSC include adipose tissue and bone marrow, which both require invasive extraction procedures. Here, we investigate the use of urine-derived stem cells (USCs) as a non-invasive and inexhaustible source of MSCs for EV production. METHODS: We isolated, expanded, and characterized urine-derived stem cells (USCs) harvested from eight healthy donors at three different time points during the day. We evaluated the number of clones per urination, proliferation capacity and conducted flow cytometry to establish expression of surface markers. EVs were produced in chemically defined media and characterized. PEI/DNA transfection was used to genetically engineer USCs using transposon technology. RESULTS: There were no differences between time points for clone number, doubling time or viability. USCs showed immunophenotypic characteristics of MSCs, such as expression of CD73, CD90 and CD105, with no difference at the assessed time points, however, male donors had reduced CD73 + cells. Expanded USCs were incubated without growth factors or serum for 72 h without a loss in viability and EVs were isolated. USCs were transfected with high efficiency and after 10 days of selection, pure engineered cell cultures were established. CONCLUSIONS: Isolation and expansion of MSCs from urine is non-invasive, robust, and without apparent sex-related differences. The sampling time point did not affect any measured markers or USC isolation potential. USCs offer an attractive production platform for EVs, both native and engineered.

Reconstitution and post-thaw storage of cryopreserved human mesenchymal stromal cells: Pitfalls and optimizations for clinically compatible formulants.

Introduction: The regenerative and immunomodulatory properties of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) make them an intriguing asset for therapeutic applications. An off-the-shelf approach, using pre-expanded cryopreserved allogenic MSCs, bypasses many practical difficulties of cellular therapy. Reconstitution of a MSC product away from cytotoxic cryoprotectants towards a preferred administration solution might be favorable for several indications. Variations in MSC handling accompanied by a non-standardized use of reconstitution solutions complicate a general clinical standardization of MSC cellular therapies. In this study, we aimed to identify a simple and clinically compatible approach for thawing, reconstitution, and post-thaw storage of cryopreserved MSCs. Methods: Human adipose tissue-derived MSCs were expanded in human platelet lysate (hPL) supplemented culture medium and cryopreserved using a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-based cryoprotectant. Isotonic solutions (saline, Ringer's acetate and phosphate buffered saline (PBS)) with or without 2% human serum albumin (HSA) were used as thawing, reconstitution, and storage solutions. MSCs were reconstituted to 5 × 106 MSCs/mL for evaluating MSC stability. Total MSC numbers and viability were determined using 7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) and flow cytometry. Results: For thawing cryopreserved MSCs the presence of protein was proven to be essential. Up to 50% of MSCs were lost when protein-free thawing solutions were used. Reconstitution and post-thaw storage of MSCs in culture medium and widely used PBS demonstrated poor MSC stability (>40% cell loss) and viability (<80%) after 1 h of storage at room temperature. Reconstitution in simple isotonic saline appeared to be a good alternative for post-thaw storage, ensuring >90% viability with no observed cell loss for at least 4 h. Reconstitution of MSCs to low concentrations was identified as critical. Diluting MSCs to <105/mL in protein-free vehicles resulted in instant cell loss (>40% cell loss) and lower viability (<80%). Addition of clinical grade HSA could prevent cell loss during thawing and dilution. Conclusion: This study identified a clinically compatible method for MSC thawing and reconstitution that ensures high MSC yield, viability, and stability. The strength of the method lies within the simplicity of implementation which offers an accessible way to streamline MSC therapies across different laboratories and clinical trials, improving standardization in this field.

Induction of a Regulatory Phenotype in CD3+ CD4+ HLA-DR+ T Cells after Allogeneic Mixed Lymphocyte Culture; Indications of Both Contact-Dependent and -Independent Activation.

Although the observation of major histocompatibility complex II (MHCII) receptors on T cells is longstanding, the explanation for this occurrence remains enigmatic. Reports of an inducible, endogenous expression exist, as do studies demonstrating a protein acquisition from other cells by mechanisms including vesicle transfer. Irrespective of origin, the presence of the human MHCII isotype, human leukocyte antigen DR (HLA-DR), potentially identifies a regulatory T cell population. Using an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) to induce an antigen-specific immune response, the role of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) for the presence of HLA-DR on cluster of differentiation 3(CD3)+ CD4+ T cells was evaluated. Moreover, a functional phenotype was established for these T cells. It was demonstrated that APCs were essential for HLA-DR on CD3+ CD4+ T cells. Additionally, a regulatory T cell phenotype was induced in CD3+ CD4+ HLA-DR+ responder T cells with an expression of CD25, CTLA-4, CD62L, PD-1, and TNFRII. This phenotype was induced both with and without physical T cell:APC contact, which could reveal novel indications about its functionality. To further investigate contact-independent communication, a phenotype of the small cell-derived vesicles from the MLCs was determined. Yet heterogeneous, this vesicle phenotype displayed contact-dependent differences, providing clues about their intended function in cellular communication.

Phenotyping of Leukocytes and Leukocyte-Derived Extracellular Vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have a demonstrated involvement in modulating the immune system. It has been proposed that EVs could be used as biomarkers for detection of inflammatory and immunological disorders. Consequently, it is of great interest to investigate EVs in more detail with focus on immunological markers. In this study, five major leukocyte subpopulations and the corresponding leukocyte-derived EVs were phenotyped with focus on selected immunological lineage-specific markers and selected vesicle-related markers. The leukocyte-derived EVs displayed phenotypic differences in the 34 markers investigated. The majority of the lineage-specific markers used for identification of the parent cell types could not be detected on EVs released from monocultures of the associated cell types. In contrast, the vesicular presentation of CD9, CD63, and CD81 correlated to the cell surface expression of these markers, however, with few exceptions. Furthermore, the cellular expression of CD9, CD63, and CD81 varied between leukocytes present in whole blood and cultured leukocytes. In summary, these data demonstrate that the cellular and vesicular presentation of selected lineage-specific and vesicle-related markers may differ, supporting the accumulating observations that sorting of molecular cargo into EVs is tightly controlled.

Oxygen-Related Differences in Cellular and Vesicular Phenotypes Observed for Ovarian Cell Cancer Lines.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are one of several tools that cells use to communicate with each other. This communication is facilitated by a number of surface-associated proteins and the cargo of the vesicles. For several cancer types, the amount of EVs is observed to be up-regulated in patients compared to healthy individuals, possibly signifying the presence of an aberrant process. The hypoxia-induced release of EVs from cancer cells has been hypothesized to cause the malignant transformation of healthy recipient cells. In this study, the phenotype of cells and EVs from the ovarian cancer cell lines, COV504, SKOV3, and Pt4, were quantified and analysed under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. It was shown that both cells and EVs express common markers and that the EV phenotype varies more than the cellular phenotype. Additionally, cells subjected to 24 hours of hypoxia compared to normoxia produced more EVs. The phenotyping of EVs from cancer cell lines provides information about their molecular composition. This information may be translated to knowledge regarding the functionality of EVs and lead to a better understanding of their role in cancer.

Characterization of a Cell-Culturing System for the Study of Contact-Independent Extracellular Vesicle Communication.

Appropriate and well-documented in vitro cell-culturing systems are necessary to study the activity and biological function of extracellular vesicles (EVs). The aim of this study was to describe an experimental system, in which dynamic, vesicle-based cell communication can be investigated. A commercially available cell-culturing system was applied to study contact-independent cell communication, which separated two cell populations using a membrane with a pore size of 0.4 µm. The EV exchange characteristics between the two compartments in the culture set-up was preliminarily investigated in a cell-free set-up, and analysed using the Extracellular Vesicle (EV) Array and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis. The application of the cell-culturing set-up was demonstrated using co-cultures of human primary cells. The effects of the relative placement of the two cell populations on the phenotype of EVs found in the cell supernatant were investigated. The results indicate that this placement can be important for the biological hypothesis that is being investigated. These observations are relevant for short (<24h) as well as long (several days) studies of vesicle-based cell communication. Moreover, the introduced cell-culturing set-up and analytical strategy can be used to study contact-independent vesicle communication in a reproducible manner.

Antibody-Based Assays for Phenotyping of Extracellular Vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous population of membrane-enclosed vesicles. EVs are recognized as important players in cell-to-cell communication and are described to be involved in numerous biological and pathological processes. The fact that EVs are involved in the development and progression of several diseases has formed the basis for the use of EV analysis in a clinical setting. As the interest in EVs has increased immensely, multiple techniques have been developed aiming at characterizing these vesicles. These techniques characterize different features of EVs, like the size distribution, enumeration, protein composition, and the intravesicular cargo (e.g., RNA). This review focuses on techniques that exploit the specificity and sensitivity associated with antibody-based assays to characterize the protein phenotype of EVs. The protein phenotype of EVs can provide information on the functionality of the vesicles and may be used for identification of disease-related biomarkers. Thus, protein profiling of EVs holds great diagnostic and prognostic potential.

Diagnostic and prognostic potential of extracellular vesicles in peripheral blood.

PURPOSE: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane-enclosed entities released from cells in many different biological systems. These vesicles play an important role in cellular communication by virtue of their protein, RNA, and lipid content, which can be transferred among cells. The complement of biomolecules reflects the parent cell, and their characterization may provide information about the presence of an aberrant process. Peripheral blood is a rich source of circulating EVs, which are easily accessible through a blood sample. An analysis of EVs in peripheral blood could provide access to unparalleled amounts of biomarkers of great diagnostic and prognostic value. The objectives of this review are to briefly present the current knowledge about EVs and to introduce a toolbox of selected techniques, which can be used to rapidly characterize clinically relevant properties of EVs from peripheral blood. METHODS: Several techniques exist to characterize the different features of EVs, including size, enumeration, RNA cargo, and protein phenotype. Each technique has a number of advantages and pitfalls. However, with the techniques presented in this review, a possible platform for EV characterization in a clinical setting is outlined. FINDINGS: Although EVs have great diagnostic and prognostic potential, a lack of standardization regarding EV analysis hampers the full use of this potential. Nevertheless, the analysis of EVs in peripheral blood has several advantages compared with traditional analyses of many soluble molecules in blood. IMPLICATIONS: Overall, the use of EV analysis as a diagnostic and prognostic tool has prodigious clinical potential.