RESUMO
Resolving the immunogenicity of cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) remains an important challenge for cell transplant strategies that use banked allogeneic cells. Thus, we evaluated the immunogenicity of mouse fetal neural stem/progenitor cells (fetus-NSPCs) and iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (iPSC-NSPCs) both in vitro and in vivo. Flow cytometry revealed the low expression of immunological surface antigens, and these cells survived in all mice when transplanted syngeneically into subcutaneous tissue and the spinal cord. In contrast, an allogeneic transplantation into subcutaneous tissue was rejected in all mice, and allogeneic cells transplanted into intact and injured spinal cords survived for 3 months in approximately 20% of mice. In addition, cell survival was increased after co-treatment with an immunosuppressive agent. Thus, the immunogenicity and post-transplantation immunological dynamics of iPSC-NSPCs resemble those of fetus-NSPCs.
Assuntos
Células-Tronco Pluripotentes Induzidas/citologia , Células-Tronco Neurais/imunologia , Animais , Proliferação de Células , Sobrevivência Celular , Feto/citologia , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Inflamação/patologia , Lentivirus/genética , Leucócitos Mononucleares/citologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Medições Luminescentes , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Células-Tronco Neurais/citologia , Células-Tronco Neurais/transplante , Medula Espinal/patologia , Traumatismos da Medula Espinal/patologia , Transdução GenéticaRESUMO
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are promising in regenerative medicine. However, the risks of teratoma formation and the overgrowth of the transplanted cells continue to be major hurdles that must be overcome. Here, we examined the efficacy of the inducible caspase-9 (iCaspase9) gene as a fail-safe against undesired tumorigenic transformation of iPSC-derived somatic cells. We used a lentiviral vector to transduce iCaspase9 into two iPSC lines and assessed its efficacy in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the iCaspase9 system induced apoptosis in approximately 95% of both iPSCs and iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (iPSC-NS/PCs). To determine in vivo function, we transplanted iPSC-NS/PCs into the injured spinal cord of NOD/SCID mice. All transplanted cells whose mass effect was hindering motor function recovery were ablated upon transduction of iCaspase9. Our results suggest that the iCaspase9 system may serve as an important countermeasure against post-transplantation adverse events in stem cell transplant therapies.