Reproductive stem cell research and its application to urology

Abstract:   Germ cells are defined by their innate potential to transmit genetic information to the next generation through fertilization. Males produce numerous sperm for long periods to maximize chances of fertilization. Key to the continuous production of large numbers of sperm are germline stem cells and their immediate daughter cells, functioning as transit amplifying cells. Recently, it has become possible to expand germline stem cells of rodents in vitro . In addition, multipotent stem cells, which are functionally the same as embryonic stem cells, have been established from neonatal mouse testes. These stem cells derived from the testis should contribute to biological research and technologies. On the other hand, the nature of human spermatogenesis is largely unknown due to the lack of an appropriate experimental system. However, the prevailing testicular sperm extraction procedure unraveled hitherto unknown facets of human spermatogenesis. The establishment of a culturing method for human spermatogonial stem cells in hopefully the near future would be a great benefit for achieving further insight into human spermatogenesis and should lead to more sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic clinical measures for male infertility.     

Effect of cell number on mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in a canine disc degeneration model

Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) inhibits the progression of disc degeneration in animal models. We know of no study to determine the optimal number of cells to transplant into the degenerated intervertebral disc (IVD). To determine the optimal donor cell number for maximum benefit, we conducted an in vivo study using a canine disc degeneration model. Autologous MSCs were transplanted into degenerative discs at 10⁵, 10⁶, or 10⁷ cells per disc. The MSC‐transplanted discs were evaluated for 12 weeks using plain radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and gross and microscopic evaluation. Preservation of the disc height, annular structure was seen in MSC‐transplantation groups compared to the operated control group with no MSC transplantation. Result of the number of remaining transplanted MSCs, the survival rate of NP cells, and apoptosis of NP cells in transplanted discs showed both structural microenvironment and abundant extracellular matrix maintained in 10⁶ MSCs transplanted disc, while less viable cells were detected in 10⁵ MSCs transplanted and more apoptotic cells in 10⁷ MSCs transplanted discs. The results of this study demonstrate that the number of cells transplanted affects the regenerative capability of MSC transplants in experimentally induced degenerating canine discs. It is suggested that maintenance of extracellular matrix by its production from transplanted cells and/or resident cells is important for checking the progression of structural disruption that leads to disc degeneration. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 28:1267–1275, 2010     

Regenerative cell therapy for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemic Gunn rats with fresh and frozen human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived hepatic stem cells

Pluripotent stem cells have been investigated as a renewable source of therapeutic hepatic cells, in order to overcome the lack of transplantable donor hepatocytes. Whereas different studies were able to correct hepatic defects in animal models, they focused on the most mature phenotype of hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) derived from pluripotent stem cells and needed freshly prepared cells, which limits clinical applications of HLCs. Here, we report the production of hepatic stem cells (pHSCs) from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in xeno-free, feeder-free, and chemically defined conditions using as extracellular matrix a recombinant laminin instead of Matrigel, an undefined animal-derived matrix. Freshly prepared and frozen pHSCs were transplanted via splenic injection in Gunn rats, the animal model for Crigler-Najjar syndrome. Following cell transplantation and daily immunosuppression treatment, bilirubinemia was significantly decreased (around 30% decrease, P < .05) and remained stable throughout the 6-month study. The transplanted pHSCs underwent maturation in vivo to restore the deficient metabolic hepatic function (bilirubin glucuronidation by UGT1A1). In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time the differentiation of hiPSCs into pHSCs that (a) are produced using a differentiation protocol compatible with Good Manufacturing Practices, (b) can be frozen, and (c) are sufficient to demonstrate in vivo therapeutic efficacy to significantly lower hyperbilirubinemia in a model of inherited liver disease, despite their immature phenotype. Thus, our approach provides major advances toward future clinical applications and would facilitate cell therapy manufacturing from human pluripotent stem cells.     

Differentiation pathways and histogenetic aspects of normal and abnormal prostatic growth: A stem cell model

A stem cell model is presented for the organization of the prostatic epithelium that may explain normal and abnormal growth in the human prostate. This model is based on recent data indicating that: 1) The three basic cell types encountered in the prostatic epithelium—i.e., secretory luminal, basal, and endocrine paracrine (EP) cells—are linked in the precursor progeny relationship. 2) The proliferative compartment of the normal and hyperplastic epithelium is located in the basal cell layer. 3) The proliferative compartment of the prostatic epithelium is androgen-independent but contains androgen-responsive target cells. 4) During the malignant transformation of the prostatic epithelium, the proliferative zone is inverted and shifts to luminal cell types. 5) Formation of neoplastic basement membrane (BM) material is crucial for the development of the invasive phenotype in prostate cancer. 6) The proliferative activities in prostate cancer are exclusively restricted to exocrine cell types, whereas endocrine differentiated tumor cells are postmitotic cells. 7) The majority of exocrine tumor cells are androgen-responsive in contrast to endocrine differentiated cell types that consistently lack the nuclear androgen receptor (AR). In this model, a small stem cell population located in the basal cell layer gives rise to all epithelial cell lineages encountered in the normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic prostate. The differentiating process from basal cells to secretory luminal cells via intermediate phenotypes is induced by circulating androgens, and largely depends on the presence of androgen-responsive target cells in the basal cell layer. Accordingly, the abnormal growth of the secretory epithelium in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) may be related to an increase in the total number of androgen-responsive basal cells in the proliferative compartment. Prostate cancer derives from transformed stem cells located in the basal cell layer that acquire secretory luminal characteristics under androgenic stimulation. During tumor invasion, the malignant phenotypes adhere via specific receptors to newly formed BM-material, which, in turn, may facilitate their passage through the extracellular matrix. The occurrence of endocrine differentiation in prostate cancer reflects the pluripotency of its stem cells. The widespread absence of nuclear AR in endocrine differentiated tumor cells clearly indicates that this phenotype belongs to those cell clones in prostate cancer, that are initially androgen-independent and refractory to hormonal therapy. Accordingly, the progressive emergence of endocrine cell clones during tumor progression may represent one mechanism by which prostate cancer cells escape hormonal control. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tissue-mimetic culture enhances mesenchymal stem cell secretome capacity to improve regenerative activity of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in vitro

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are a heterogenous population of multipotent and highly secretory cells currently being investigated in the field of wound healing for their ability to augment tissue responses. The adaptive response of MSC populations to the rigid substrate of current 2D culture systems has been considered to result in a deterioration of regenerative ‘stem-like’ properties. In this study, we characterise how the improved culture of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) within a tissue-mimetic 3D hydrogel system, that is mechanically similar to native adipose tissue, enhances their regenerative capabilities. Notably, the hydrogel system contains a porous microarchitecture that permits mass transport, enabling efficient collection of secreted cellular compounds. By utilising this 3D system, ASCs retained a significantly higher expression of ASC ‘stem-like’ markers while demonstrating a significant reduction in senescent populations, relative to 2D. Additionally, culture of ASCs within the 3D system resulted in enhanced secretory activity with significant increases in the secretion of proteinaceous factors, antioxidants and extracellular vesicles (EVs) within the conditioned media (CM) fraction. Lastly, treatment of wound healing cells, keratinocytes (KCs) and fibroblasts (FBs), with ASC-CM from the 2D and 3D systems resulted in augmented functional regenerative activity, with ASC-CM from the 3D system significantly increasing KC and FB metabolic, proliferative and migratory activity. This study demonstrates the potential beneficial role of MSC culture within a tissue-mimetic 3D hydrogel system that more closely mimics native tissue mechanics, and subsequently how the improved phenotype augments secretory activity and potential wound healing capabilities of the MSC secretome.     

Petaloid recombinant peptide enhances in vitro cartilage formation by synovial mesenchymal stem cells

In vitro chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) mimics in vivo chondrogenesis of MSCs. However, the size of the cartilage pellets that can be attained in vitro is limited by current methods; therefore, some modifications are required to obtain larger pellets. Petaloid pieces of recombinant peptide (petaloid RCP) have the advantage of creating spaces between cells in culture. The RCP used here is based on the alpha‐1 sequence of human collagen type I and contains 12 Arg‐Gly‐Asp motifs. We examined the effect and mechanisms of adding petaloid RCP on the in vitro chondrogenesis of human synovial MSCs by culturing 125k cells with or without 0.125 mg petaloid RCP in chondrogenic medium for 21 days. The cartilage pellets were sequentially analyzed by weight, sulfated glycosaminoglycan content, DNA retention, and histology. Petaloid RCP significantly increased the weight of the cartilage pellets: The petaloid RCP group weighed 7.7 ± 1.2 mg (n = 108), whereas the control group weighed 5.3 ± 1.6 mg. Sulfated glycosaminoglycan and DNA contents were significantly higher in the petaloid RCP group than in the control group. Light and transmission electron microscopy images showed that the petaloid RCP formed the framework of the pellet at day 1, the framework was broken by production of cartilage matrix by the synovial MSCs at day 7, and the cartilage pellet grew larger, with diffuse petaloid RCP remaining, at day 21. Therefore, petaloid RCP formed a framework for the pellet, maintained a higher cell number, and promoted in vitro cartilage formation of synovial MSCs. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research® Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:1350–1357, 2019.     

精原干细胞微环境的生物学特性

成体干细胞的自我更新和分化与其微环境关系密切。精原干细胞(spermatogonial stem cells,SSCs)是体内自然状态下唯一能将遗传信息传至子代的成体干细胞。探讨SSCs更新和分化的调控机制有助于精子发生机理的阐明,并为探究其他成体干细胞增殖分化的调节机制提供依据。因此,SSCs系统为成体干细胞微环境研究提供了理想模型。资料表明,SSCs的更新和分化受其微环境的调控。基于本室的工作,参考最新文献,本文主要从SSCs微环境的基本特性、构成及其产生的各种调控因子等角度,评述了SSCs微环境的生物学特性及其与SSCs更新和分化间的关系,以期为本领域研究及其他成体干细胞相关研究提供借鉴。     

肿瘤干细胞的研究进展

肿瘤具有异质性的特征,随着研究的深入,越来越多的证据提示肿瘤组织中也存在少量具有干细胞性质的肿瘤干细胞,于是人们在此基础上提出了肿瘤干细胞学说,肿瘤干细胞已成为当今肿瘤研究领域的热点。目前,已经从白血病、脑肿瘤、乳腺癌、恶性黑色素瘤及前列腺癌等多种恶性肿瘤中初步分离鉴定出肿瘤干细胞。肿瘤干细胞学说的提出,使得靶向性杀伤肿瘤干细胞从而根治肿瘤成为可能。     

A comparison of clinically relevant sources of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes: Bone marrow and amniotic fluid

Background/Purpose

Exosomes may constitute a more practical alternative to live cells in select stem cell-based therapies. We sought to compare exosomes from two mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sources relevant to perinatal and pediatric diseases.

Isolation and potential existence of side population cells in adult human kidney

Abstract:   The existence of adult stem-like cells such as side population (SP) cells is reported in various kinds of animal tissues, and we recently reported that mice kidney SP cells differentiate into multilineage. However, there has thus far been no report about human kidney SP cells. In the present study, we examined the existence of SP cells in human kidney tissue by using Hoechst 33342 staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. We used porcine kidney tissue to optimize the analysis conditions for human tissue, and found that the SP population in human kidney was 1.3%. The existence of SP cells in human kidney suggests that the cells could be good targets for clinical renal regenerative medicine.     

干细胞在肾脏损伤中应用的研究进展

终末期肾病加剧了世界医疗资源的负担。现在迫切需要有效的策略,即通过肾脏再生来预防进一步的肾损伤以及恢复肾功能。除防止肾脏损伤外,再生受损的肾组织对于延缓慢性肾脏病发展到终末期肾衰竭也是非常重要的。肾脏再生的最新进展包括了胚胎干细胞向肾脏细胞定向诱导分化;肾小管损伤后的增殖加强;内皮祖细胞和肾祖细胞在肾损伤修复中的作用;采用间充质干细胞治疗肾病和肾脏组织工程等。然而就目前的研究,在上述过程中依然存在一些争议,如成体上皮干细胞究竟是不是存在;如何探寻并研究最好的肾损伤治疗策略以及如何以最佳的方式使用间充质干细胞来预防肾损伤等。本文总结了干细胞和再生方法在肾损伤中应用研究的最新进展。     

补肾法促干细胞归巢在骨质疏松中的应用

通过对相关文献的整理和总结,对干细胞归巢在防治骨质疏松的作用机制与中医“补肾法”进行相关性分析,从细胞和分子水平来探讨“补肾法”与防治骨质疏松的关系。干细胞归巢在抗骨质疏松中起到了重要作用,现代研究也证实,补肾中药治疗骨质疏松的机制与干细胞的归巢有着紧密的联系。SDF-1/CXCR4轴是促干细胞归巢的关键信号轴,与干细胞治疗骨质疏松密切相关。中医补肾法中认为“阳化气,阴成形”。干细胞归巢与中医补肾法中“阳化气”功能有着相似内涵,SDF-1/CXCR4轴可能是补肾法“阳化气”功能在分子水平上的具体表现形式,通过激活SDF-1/CXCR4轴增强干细胞“阳化气”功能促进归巢,归巢后的干细胞可通过调节骨免疫、抗凋亡等途径为具有“阴成形”特征的骨形成创造有利环境或成骨分化直接参与成骨防治骨质疏松。该文对补肾法与干细胞归巢的关系进行探讨,丰富了补肾法防治骨质疏松的理论内涵,总结了中医补肾法促干细胞归巢防治骨质疏松研究存在的问题和今后可能的发展方向,为中医中药联合干细胞防治骨质疏松提供理论参考。     

胃癌干细胞及其治疗的研究进展

胃癌是我国常见的消化道恶性肿瘤之一,其病死率居高不下.目前关于胃癌发病机制的研究仍有大量疑问和争议.近年来,随着对肿瘤干细胞研究的不断深入,胃癌干细胞的研究也日益受到重视.现就肿瘤干细胞的概念、胃癌干细胞研究现状以及针对肿瘤干细胞的治疗研究进展进行综述.     

Non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation for metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Between 1999 and 2004, 11 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) underwent non-myeloablative stem cell transplantation (NST) with conditioning using fludarabine-based regimens in two institutions of Korea. Among 11 patients, only one patient showed partial response (response rate: 9%), three showed stable disease, and six progressive disease. Three patients developed acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and among them, one developed grade III acute GVHD which caused early death at day 60 after transplantation, and this patient showed partial response at day 30. Six patients developed chronic GVHD, three limited, and three extensive GVHD, respectively. Survival after one yr was 18% in transplanted patients. Median overall survival for entire cohort was 4.3 months. Eight patients died from progressive disease and three (27%) from treatment-related mortality. Only one patient survived 51.2 months after NST with slowly progressive disease. This patient received donor lymphocyte infusion three times after NST and achieved complete donor chimerism. NST does not lead to durable response and prolonged overall survival in the majority of patients with RCC in our series.