Transduction of the anti-apoptotic PTD-FNK protein improves the efficiency of transplantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells.

ABSTRACT

Since most transplanted cells rapidly die in an ischemic environment by hypoxia and hyponutrition, it is crucial to know how to protect transplanted cells for improving transplantation efficiency. We examined whether the transduction of an artificial anti-cell death protein (PTD-FNK) into bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) prevents cell death and improves the transplantation efficiency of BM-MNCs in ischemic regions. Rat bone marrow cells were prepared from the femur and tibia and cultured on dishes precoated with human fibronectin in the absence of serum. BM-MNCs transduced with PTD-FNK survived better than those without the protein (P<0.008) and retained the potential to differentiate into endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), as judged by the uptake of an acetylated low-density lipoprotein and the ability to bind lectin. Next, we used a co-culture system comprising human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and fibroblasts to examine angiogenic potential. HUVECs pretreated with PTD-FNK survived and formed a blood-vessel-like structure better than untreated cells (P<0.001). When BM-MNCs expressing EGFP were transplanted into ischemic areas of a male rat ischemic hindlimb model, the cells pretreated with PTD-FNK were incorporated into blood vessel with a higher efficiency than the untreated BM-MNCs (P=0.03). BM-MNCs protected through transduction of PTD-FNK maintained their angiogenic potential. Thus, PTD-FNK improves the transplantation efficiency of BM-MNCs into ischemic regions.