Enzyme-controlled, nutritive hydrogel for mesenchymal stromal cell survival and paracrine functions.

Culture-adapted human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) are appealing candidates for regenerative medicine applications. However, these cells implanted in lesions as single cells or tissue constructs encounter an ischemic microenvironment responsible for their massive death post-transplantation, a major roadblock to successful clinical therapies. We hereby propose a paradigm shift for enhancing hMSC survival by designing, developing, and testing an enzyme-controlled, nutritive hydrogel with an inbuilt glucose delivery system for the first time. This hydrogel, composed of fibrin, starch (a polymer of glucose), and amyloglucosidase (AMG, an enzyme that hydrolyze glucose from starch), provides physiological glucose levels to fuel hMSCs via glycolysis. hMSCs loaded in these hydrogels and exposed to near anoxia (0.1% pO2) in vitro exhibited improved cell viability and angioinductive functions for up to 14 days. Most importantly, these nutritive hydrogels promoted hMSC viability and paracrine functions when implanted ectopically. Our findings suggest that local glucose delivery via the proposed nutritive hydrogel can be an efficient approach to improve hMSC-based therapeutic efficacy.

The paracrine effects of human induced pluripotent stem cells promote bone-like structures via the upregulation of BMP expression in a mouse ectopic model.

Use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (h-iPSCs) for bone tissue engineering is most appealing, because h-iPSCs are an inexhaustible source of osteocompetent cells. The present study investigated the contribution of undifferentiated h-iPSCs and elucidated aspects of the underlying mechanism(s) of the involvement of these cells to new bone formation. Implantation of undifferentiated h-iPSCs seeded on coral particles in ectopic sites of mice resulted in expression of osteocalcin and DMP-1, and in mineral content similar to that of the murine bone. The number of the implanted h-iPSCs decreased with time and disappeared by 30 days post-implantation. In contrast, expression of the murine osteogenic genes at day 15 and 30 post-implantation provided, for the first time, evidence that the implanted h-iPSCs affected the observed outcomes via paracrine mechanisms. Supporting evidence was provided because supernatant conditioned media from h-iPSCs (h-iPSC CM), promoted the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (h-MSCs) in vitro. Specifically, h-iPSC CM induced upregulation of the BMP-2, BMP-4 and BMP-6 genes, and promoted mineralization of the extracellular matrix. Given the current interest in the use of h-iPSCs for regenerative medicine applications, our study contributes new insights into aspects of the mechanism underlying the bone promoting capability of h-iPSCs.

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Failure to Adapt to Glucose Shortage and Rapidly Use Intracellular Energy Reserves Through Glycolysis Explains Poor Cell Survival After Implantation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold considerable promise in tissue engineering (TE). However, their poor survival when exogenously administered limits their therapeutic potential. Previous studies from our group demonstrated that lack of glucose (glc) (but not of oxygen) is fatal to human MSCs because it serves as a pro-survival and pro-angiogenic molecule for human MSCs (hMSCs) upon transplantation. However, which energy-providing pathways MSCs use to metabolize glc upon transplantation? Are there alternative energetic nutrients to replace glc? And most importantly, do hMSCs possess significant intracellular glc reserves for ensuring their survival upon transplantation? These remain open questions at the forefront of TE based-therapies. In this study, we established for the first time that the in vivo environment experienced by hMSCs is best reflected by near-anoxia (0.1% O2 ) rather than hypoxia (1%-5% O2 ) in vitro. Under these near-anoxia conditions, hMSCs rely almost exclusively on glc through anerobic glycolysis for ATP production and are unable to use either exogenous glutamine, serine, or pyruvate as energy substrates. Most importantly, hMSCs are unable to adapt their metabolism to the lack of exogenous glc, possess a very limited internal stock of glc and virtually no ATP reserves. This lack of downregulation of energy turnover as a function of exogenous glc level results in a rapid depletion of hMSC energy reserves that explains their poor survival rate. These new insights prompt for the development of glc-releasing scaffolds to overcome this roadblock plaguing the field of TE based-therapies. Stem Cells 2018;36:363-376.

In Vivo Tissue Engineering of Human Airways.

BACKGROUND: Airway transplantation remains a major challenge in thoracic surgery. Based on our previous laboratory work, we developed the techniques required to bioengineer a tracheal substitute in vivo using cryopreserved aortic allografts as biological matrices (Replacement of the Airways and/or the Pulmonary Vessels Using a Cryopreserved Arterial Allograft [TRACHEOBRONCART] Study, NCT01331863). We present here 2 patients who had a definitive tracheostomy for complex laryngotracheal stenoses refractory to conventional therapy. METHODS: According to our protocol, a stented gender-mismatched -80°C cryopreserved aortic allograft was used for airway reconstruction. Follow-up assessments were done at regular intervals using clinical, imaging, and endoscopic evaluations. Immunohistochemical and XX/XY chimerism studies were performed at time of stent removal using graft biopsy specimens. Chemotactic and angiogenic properties of implanted matrices were also investigated. RESULTS: At a maximal follow-up of 5 years and 7 months, the patients were breathing and speaking normally, without tracheostomy or stent. Regeneration of cartilage within the aortic grafts was demonstrated by positive immunodetection of type II collagen and markers specific for Sox9. Chimerism study from samples of neotissues demonstrated that regenerated cartilage came from recipient cells. The remaining viable matrix cells released a functionally relevant amount of proangiogenic, chemoattractant, proinflammatory/immunomodulatory cytokines, and growth factors. CONCLUSIONS: This report documents the feasibility of in vivo tissue engineering for long-term functional airway transplantation in humans.

Quiescence Preconditioned Human Multipotent Stromal Cells Adopt a Metabolic Profile Favorable for Enhanced Survival under Ischemia.

A major impediment to the development of therapies with mesenchymal stem cells/multipotent stromal cells (MSC) is the poor survival and engraftment of MSCs at the site of injury. We hypothesized that lowering the energetic demand of MSCs by driving them into a quiescent state would enhance their survival under ischemic conditions. Human MSCs (hMSCs) were induced into quiescence by serum deprivation (SD) for 48 hours. Such preconditioned cells (SD-hMSCs) exhibited reduced nucleotide and protein syntheses compared to unpreconditioned hMSCs. SD-hMSCs sustained their viability and their ATP levels upon exposure to severe, continuous, near-anoxia (0.1% O2 ) and total glucose depletion for up to 14 consecutive days in vitro, as they maintained their hMSC multipotential capabilities upon reperfusion. Most importantly, SD-hMSCs showed enhanced viability in vivo for the first week postimplantation in mice. Quiescence preconditioning modified the energy-metabolic profile of hMSCs: it suppressed energy-sensing mTOR signaling, stimulated autophagy, promoted a shift in bioenergetic metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis and upregulated the expression of gluconeogenic enzymes, such as PEPCK. Since the presence of pyruvate in cell culture media was critical for SD-hMSC survival under ischemic conditions, we speculate that these cells may utilize some steps of gluconeogenesis to overcome metabolic stress. These findings support that SD preconditioning causes a protective metabolic adaptation that might be taken advantage of to improve hMSC survival in ischemic environments. Stem Cells 2017;35:181-196.

Type 2 diabetes alters mesenchymal stem cell secretome composition and angiogenic properties.

This study aimed at characterizing the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMMSC) secretome and angiogenic properties. BMMSCs from Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF) (a T2DM model) and Zucker LEAN littermates (control) were cultured. The supernatant conditioned media (CM) from BMMSCs of diabetic and control rats were collected and analysed. Compared to results obtained using CM from LEAN-BMMSCs, the bioactive content of ZDF-BMMSC CM (i) differently affects endothelial cell (HUVEC) functions in vitro by inducing increased (3.5-fold; P < 0.01) formation of tubule-like structures and migration of these cells (3-fold; P < 0.001), as well as promotes improved vascular formation in vivo, and (ii) contains different levels of angiogenic factors (e.g. IGF1) and mediators, such as OSTP, CATD, FMOD LTBP1 and LTBP2, which are involved in angiogenesis and/or extracellular matrix composition. Addition of neutralizing antibodies against IGF-1, LTBP1 or LTBP2 in the CM of BMMSCs from diabetic rats decreased its stimulatory effect on HUVEC migration by approximately 60%, 40% or 40%, respectively. These results demonstrate that BMMSCs from T2DM rats have a unique secretome with distinct angiogenic properties and provide new insights into the role of BMMSCs in aberrant angiogenesis in the diabetic milieu.

Engineered cell-free scaffold with two-stage delivery of miRNA-26a for bone repair.

The treatment of non-unions and bone defects is a major challenge. In these situations, autologous bone is the preferred treatment but has several serious limitations. Treatment alternatives including the use of calcium-based scaffolds alone or associated with either growth factors or stem cells have therefore been developed, or are under development, to overcome these shortcomings. Each of these are, however, associated with their own drawbacks, such as the lack of sustained/controlled delivery system for growth factors and poor cell survival and engraftment for stem cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding RNAs fine-tune the expression of as much as 30% of all mammalian protein-encoding genes. For instance, miRNA26a is able to promote the repair of critical-size calvarial bone defects. Yet, the clinical application of these fascinating molecules has been hampered by a lack of appropriate delivery systems. In an elegant report entitled cell-free 3D scaffold with two-stage delivery of miRNA-26a to regenerate critical-sized bone defects, Zhang et al. 2016, developped a non-viral vector with high affinity to miR-26a that ensured its efficient delivery in bone defects. Engineered scaffolds were able to induce the regeneration of calvarial bone defects in healthy and osteoporotic mice. Taken together, these data pave the way for the development of advanced bone substitutes that at least will match, and preferably supersede, the clinical efficiency of autologous bone grafts. However, the transfer from the bench to the bedside of such scaffolds requires further investigations including (I) a better understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms involved in bone formation via miRNA26a; (II) evidences of polymer scaffold biocompatibility upon its complete degradation; and (III) demonstration of the engineered scaffold functionality in defects of clinically relevant volume.

Comparison of Survival and Osteogenic Ability of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Orthotopic and Ectopic Sites in Mice.

Tissue constructs containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are appealing strategies for repairing large segmental bone defects, but they do not allow consistent bone healing and early cell death was identified as a cause of failure. However, little is known about cell survival in the clinical microenvironment encountered during bone healing process. Osteoconductive coral scaffold with or without luciferase-labeled human MSCs were implanted either in a critical segmental femoral bone defect stabilized by plate or subcutaneously in 44 mice. Cell survival was evaluated by serial bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and osteogenic capabilities by histology and microcomputed tomography. Comparisons between groups were performed with two-way analysis of variance test. Twenty mice were sacrificed 2 weeks after surgery for short-term evaluation and 24 mice at 10 weeks for long-term evaluation. BLI provided evidence of fast and continuous cell death: 85% decrease of the BLI signal over the first 2 weeks in both locations; in fact, less than 2% of the initial cell number was present in all constructs analyzed 4 weeks postimplantation and less than 1% of the initial cell number by 8 weeks postimplantation. By 2 weeks postimplantation, the amount of newly formed bone was self-limited and was similar to ectopic and orthotopic groups. By 10 weeks postimplantation, bone formation was significantly enhanced in the presence of MSCs in orthotopic site and the amount of newly formed bone in cell-containing constructs implanted in orthotopic locations was significantly higher than that observed in the ectopic group. Our results indicated that hMSCs promote bone formation despite early and massive cell death when loaded on coral scaffolds. Interestingly, bone formation was higher in orthotopic than ectopic site despite the same survival pattern. Ectopic implantation of cell-containing constructs is suitable to evaluate cell survival, but assessment of bone formation ability requires orthotopic implantation.

Oxygen Tension Regulates Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Paracrine Functions.

UNLABELLED: : Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have captured the attention and research endeavors of the scientific world because of their differentiation potential. However, there is accumulating evidence suggesting that the beneficial effects of MSCs are predominantly due to the multitude of bioactive mediators secreted by these cells. Because the paracrine potential of MSCs is closely related to their microenvironment, the present study investigated and characterized select aspects of the human MSC (hMSC) secretome and assessed its in vitro and in vivo bioactivity as a function of oxygen tension, specifically near anoxia (0.1% O2) and hypoxia (5% O2), conditions that reflect the environment to which MSCs are exposed during MSC-based therapies in vivo. In contrast to supernatant conditioned media (CM) obtained from hMSCs cultured at either 5% or 21% of O2, CM from hMSCs cultured under near anoxia exhibited significantly (p < .05) enhanced chemotactic and proangiogenic properties and a significant (p < .05) decrease in the inflammatory mediator content. An analysis of the hMSC secretome revealed a specific profile under near anoxia: hMSCs increase their paracrine expression of the angiogenic mediators vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, VEGF-C, interleukin-8, RANTES, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 but significantly decrease expression of several inflammatory/immunomodulatory mediators. These findings provide new evidence that elucidates aspects of great importance for the use of MSCs in regenerative medicine and could contribute to improving the efficacy of such therapies. SIGNIFICANCE: The present study investigated and characterized select aspects of the human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) secretome and assessed its in vitro and in vivo biological bioactivity as a function of oxygen tension, specifically near anoxia (0.1% O2) and hypoxia (5% O2), conditions that reflect the environment to which MSCs are exposed during MSC-based therapies in vivo. The present study provided the first evidence of a shift of the hMSC cytokine signature induced by oxygen tension, particularly near anoxia (0.1% O2). Conditioned media obtained from hMSCs cultured under near anoxia exhibited significantly enhanced chemotactic and proangiogenic properties and a significant decrease in the inflammatory mediator content. These findings provide new evidence that elucidates aspects of great importance for the use of MSCs in regenerative medicine, could contribute to improving the efficacy of such therapies, and most importantly highlighted the interest in using conditioned media in therapeutic modalities.

Proangiogenic and prosurvival functions of glucose in human mesenchymal stem cells upon transplantation.

A major limitation in the development of cellular therapies using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) is cell survival post-transplantation. In this study, we challenged the current paradigm of hMSC survival, which assigned a pivotal role to oxygen, by testing the hypothesis that exogenous glucose may be key to hMSC survival. We demonstrated that hMSCs could endure sustained near-anoxia conditions only in the presence of glucose. In this in vitro cell model, the protein expressions of Hif-1α and angiogenic factors were upregulated by the presence of glucose. Ectopically implanted tissue constructs supplemented with glucose exhibited four- to fivefold higher viability and were more vascularized compared to those without glucose at day 14. These findings provided the first direct in vitro and in vivo demonstration of the proangiogenic and prosurvival functions of glucose in hMSC upon transplantation and identified glucose as an essential component of the ideal scaffold for transplanting stem cells.

Cytokines profiling by multiplex analysis in experimental arthritis: which pathophysiological relevance for articular versus systemic mediators?

INTRODUCTION: We have taken advantage of the large screening capacity of a multiplex immunoassay to better define the respective contribution of articular versus systemic cytokines in experimental arthritis. METHODS: We performed a follow up (from 7 hours to 14 days) multiplex analysis of 24 cytokines in synovial fluid and sera of rats developing Antigen-Induced Arthritis (AIA) and confronted their protein level changes with molecular, biochemical, histological and clinical events occurring in the course of the disease. RESULTS: The time-scheduled findings in arthritic joints correlated with time-dependent changes of cytokine amounts in joint effusions but not with their blood levels. From seven hours after sensitization, high levels of chemokines (MCP-1, MIP1α, GRO/KC, RANTES, eotaxin) were found in synovial fluid of arthritic knees whereas perivascular infiltration occurred in the synovium; local release of inflammatory cytokines (IFNγ, IL-1ß, IL-6) preceded the spreading of inflammation and resulted in progressive degradation of cartilage and bone. Finally a local overexpression of several cytokines/adipocytokines poorly described in arthritis (IL-13, IL-18, leptin) was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct panels of cytokines were found in arthritic fluid during AIA, and the expected effect of mediators correlated well with changes occurring in joint tissues. Moreover, multiplex analysis could be helpful to identify new pathogenic mediators and to elucidate the mechanisms supporting the efficacy of putative targeted therapies.

Alternative for anti-TNF antibodies for arthritis treatment.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a proinflammatory cytokine, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases, including arthritis. Neutralization of this cytokine by anti-TNF-α antibodies has shown its efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is now widely used. Nevertheless, some patients currently treated with anti-TNF-α remain refractory or become nonresponder to these treatments. In this context, there is a need for new or complementary therapeutic strategies. In this study, we investigated in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory potentialities of an anti-TNF-α triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO), as judged from effects on two rat arthritis models. The inhibitory activity of this TFO on articular cells (synoviocytes and chondrocytes) was verified and compared to that of small interfering RNA (siRNA) in vitro. The use of the anti-TNF-α TFO as a preventive and local treatment in both acute and chronic arthritis models significantly reduced disease development. Furthermore, the TFO efficiently blocked synovitis and cartilage and bone destruction in the joints. The results presented here provide the first evidence that gene targeting by anti-TNF-α TFO modulates arthritis in vivo, thus providing proof-of-concept that it could be used as therapeutic tool for TNF-α-dependent inflammatory disorders.

Evaluation of a rat knee mono-arthritis using microPET.

AIM: Assessing the activity of synovitis, which is characterized by an increase in cell metabolism, is important for the prediction of future articular destruction in clinical and preclinical studies. To evaluate the correlation between ¹8F-FDG accumulation and arthritis pathology during its establishment, we used microPET to evaluted ¹8F-FDG accumulation in vivo during rat Mycobacterium wall-induced knee arthritis. METHODS: ¹8F-FDG PET images of arthritic rats were acquired on days 1, 2, 3 and 7 after arthritis induction. The subjects (n=2/time) were subsequently subjected to macro-autoradiography, and ¹8F-FDG accumulation was compared with histological findings. RESULTS: ¹8F-FDG PET images depicted swollen joints, and ¹8F-FDG accumulation increased with the progression of arthritis. Histologically, increased ¹8F-FDG accumulation correlated with the pannus rather than the infiltration of inflammatory cells around the joints. CONCLUSION: ¹8F-FDG accumulation in arthritis reflects proliferating pannus and inflammatory activity enhanced by inflammatory cytokines. ¹8F-FDG microPET should be effective for quantifying the inflammatory activity of arthritis and/or its therapeutic response.

Evaluation of intra-articular delivery of hyaluronic acid functionalized biopolymeric nanoparticles in healthy rat knees.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxicity of nanoparticles of poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PLA) or poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) covered by chemically esterified amphiphilic hyaluronate (HA) which will be used for intra-articular injection as a drug carrier for the treatment of arthritis (RA) and/or osteoarthritis (OA). PLA and PLGA are FDA approved polymers that are already used for the preparation of nano or microparticles. HA is a natural polysaccharide already present in the articulations known to interact with the CD44 receptors of the cells (especially chondrocytes). Therefore, we can envisage that the HA covering can improve the interactions between the cells and the nanoparticles, leading to better targeting or biodistribution. The knee of healthy male rats was injected one to two times weekly, with various concentrations of nanoparticles encapsulating Dextran-FITC. The synovial membranes and the patellae were collected aseptically and histologically analyzed to assess the effects and localization of the nanocapsules in the knee joint. We did not observe significant modifications in the synovial membranes (weak hyperplasia) or patellae integrity after local administration of nanodevices into the rats. While we found some nanoparticles in the synovial membrane, none were detected in the patellae. Moreover, the histological observations for patellae were confirmed by radiosulfate intake, which depicted no decrease in proteoglycans biosynthesis in nanoparticles treated animals. Concerning the safety towards synovial membranes, we also had a look at the inflammatory response after injections of nanoparticles covered by amphiphilic HA or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by monitoring the mRNA expression levels of some specific early cytokines (IL-1ß and TNF-α). Once again, no differences were observed between the control rats and the rats treated with nanoparticles. Considering these preliminary results obtained in healthy rats, we can establish that neither the amphiphilic HA-covered PLGA nanoparticles nor their degradation products induce major modifications of articular tissues functions, while injected into the knee of healthy rats. These results should be confirmed in OA or RA rat models, in order to confirm that nanoparticles do not worsen already altered (degenerative or inflamed) articular tissues. Once confirmed, such tuneable nanoparticles could be proposed as a safe drug delivery system for the treatment of articular disease, allowing a wide range of encapsulating molecules.