News of stem cell banking and clinical application (review of reports of ISSCR-2015

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24-27 June 2015, Stockholm (Sweden) hosted the 13th annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research – ISSCR. Ukraine was represented at this conference by the director of the Institute of Cell Therapy cryobank Lobintseva GS, Ph.D., winner of the State Prize of Ukraine and Shabliy VA, PhD, deputy director of cryobank. Institute of Cell Therapy, a co-founder and a full member of the Association of cryobanks, for many years is also an actual member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research – ISSCR.

The programe of ISSCR conference in 2015 included reports of the world recognized scientists, including Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2012 for his discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells. The scientific program of the ISSCR conference also included 3 report of the Institute of Cell Therapy (Kiev, Ukraine).

The plenary sessions of the conference were devoted to the following subjects:

  • Disease modeling
  • Creation of tissues and organs
  • Immunology and Stem Cells
  • Pluripotency, reprogramming mechanisms
  • Regeneration and engraftment
  • Stem cell therapy

The congress was held under the following thematic sessions: actual issues of cell activity, in particular the processes of cell adhesion and migration; control and induction of pluripotency; disease modeling; epithelial and mesenchymal stem cells; ethical aspects of stem cells; hematopoiesis; nervous systemstem cells; regulatory stem cellsnetworks; pancreas, lung, liver, intestine stem cells; cancer stem cells; transdifferentiation and reprogramming.

In addition to well-known sources of stem cells such as bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, which have already gained wide application in medicine, during the conference the biological properties and perspectives of use of endometrial and dental pulp stem cells were actively discussed.

The presidential symposium “Manipulating stem cells in development and disease” took place within current ISSCR conference, at which Prof. Shinya Yamanaka gave a lecture “Recent advances of IPS-cells application”. Professor pointed out that the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an invaluable tool for cell therapy, disease modeling and research of medicines. The scientist predicts that induced pluripotent stem cells will be even more widely used in medicine in the near future. So, in the coming years clinical studies on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease and thrombocytopenia are expected. And in 2014, the first clinical trial on the use of IPSc in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration started. Also a commercial project on launching of the bank of clones of induced pluripotent stem cells from donors with homologous HLA-phenotype was initiated. The use of such clones implicates the reduction of the immune response and risk of transplant rejection. Other vectors of application of induced pluripotent stem cells include a study of new drugs, research on toxicity  and study of the mechanisms of diseases. Also, induced pluripotent stem cells may be used for prophylactic purposes since these cells may help to predict  patient’s condition and prevent the development of certain diseases.

Prof. Kari K. Alitalo et al. (Finland) presented a very interesting paper “Targeting endothelial growth factor pathways in cancer and cardiovascular disease”. In recent years scientists accumulated numerous data on the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis, that is especially important for manipulation of the processes aimed at the treatment of cancer and ischemic diseases, the creation of pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic drugs. However, in many pathological processes, such as inflammation, metastasis, immune system dysfunction limphoangiogenic growth factors are envolved. Research and manipulation of secretion of limphoangiogenic growth factorsmay have therapeutic value in the treatment of several diseases.

Dr. Mohammed Al Bagami et al. (France) in the paper  “Comparison between healthy donor derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells: and human dermal fibroblasts: impact on clinical applications of MSC” analyzed the phenotype and functional properties of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow and human dermal fibroblasts. Proposed parameters of differentiation of these populations of cells, especially the gene expression profile, are important for the evaluation of contamination of the bone marrow by dermal fibroblasts,what may result in unpredictable effects of the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow.

 Dr. Anna Badner et al. (Canada) presented the report “The vasoprotective effect of early intravenous mesenchymal stromal cell delivery after traumatic spinal cord injury”. The effectiveness of the early systemic infusion of mesenchymal stem cells on a model of spinal cord injury in rats was investigated. It was shown that this treatment significantly reduces the pathological manifestations and progression of the disease, although the mechanism of the positive effects of stem cells in spinal cord injury is not fully understood and cell engraftment in spinal cord tissue was insignificant. Scientists have concluded that this therapeutic effect is due to the multiple trophic factors, secreted by the infused stem cells.

Noteworthy is the report of Dr. Alix Kay Berglund et al. (USA) on the theme “TGF-beta-2 decreases surface expression of MHC-1 on equine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells. Mesenchymal stromal cells from bone marrow have been widely used in the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases, but it is shown that incompatibility according to MHC-1 system between the donor and recipient may lead to immunological complications. Therefore, scientists have developed a method of molecular manipulation of mesenchymal stem cells to create in immune-privileged graft, one of which is the use of the culture of mesenchymal stem cells with TGF-β2.

Dr. Emma Board-Davies et al. (Sweden) presented a promising paper “Oral mucosal lamina propria progenitor-cells display broad spectrum antibacterial properties via the secretion of osteoprotegerin”. It is well known that stem cell precursors isolated from the mucous membrane of the oral cavity are a new population of stem cells with pronounced immunosuppressive propertiesand the possibility to inhibit the proliferation of lymphocytes, the latter was characterized by a dose- and contact-dependent character. However, in this study colleagues showed revolutionary data that stem progenitor cells isolated from the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, can significantly reduce the growth of bacteria.

The study of the biological properties of mesenchymal stem cells of dental pulp was presented by Dr. Annelies Bronckaers (Belgium) et al.entitled“Unraveling the angiogenic properties of human dental pulp stem cells in vitro and in vivo”.Stem cells of the pulp of the teeth are easy to isolate, cultivate and cryconserve, they also represent an attractive source of material for cell therapy. In this paper the angiogenic properties of mesenchymal stem cells of dental pulp were investigated. It was shown that these cells secrete both pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, such asvascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), endostatin. Effect of mesenchymal stem cells of the dental pulp on the processes of proliferation and cell migration – the key stages of angiogenesis was studied. It has been shown that dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells stimulate angiogenesis by paracrine mechanism and, therefore, can serve as an important cellular material for tissue engineering purposes and treatment of diseases that are accompanied by insufficient angiogenesis.

Dr. Campos de Carvalho et al. (Brazil) presented unique data on the effect of autologous mesenchymal bone marrow stem cells on the functional parameters of the cardiovascular system of dogs infected by Trypanossoma cruzi in the chronic phase. The researchers concluded that treatment with stem cells leads to improved functional activity of myocardiumin heart damage, caused by Trypanossoma cruzi infection, however, this effect was not observed in case of application of allogeneic cells.

Dr. Giuliana Castello Coatti et al. (Brazil) presented a paper Human adipose derived pericytes increase survival in an ALSmouse model but only in affected males”. Despite contradictory results of pre-clinical research aimed at the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with mesenchymal stem cells, it is known that these cells possess immunosuppressive and neuroprotective effects, reduce the manifestations of oxidative stress, what creates a theoretical background for cell therapy of this disease. Pericytes are a more homogeneous cell population, and in addition to the paracrine secretion of a number of  factors these cells have a unique advantage – the ability to maintain the blood-brain barrier, what is important in neurodegenerative diseases. On a model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mice therapeutic effect of pericytes and culture of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue was investigated. Interestingly, male mice showed a better therapeutic effect in response to treatment.

Dr. Caroline E. Gargett et al. (Australia) presented a paper Culture expansion of undifferentiated human endometrial MSC using a small molecule inhibitor”.Endometrial mesenchymal stem cells are a new source of stem cells, extracted from the inner lining of the uterus – the endometrium, which has an extremely high regenerative potential. The report provides the possibility of using inhibitor of small molecules, such as A83-01, for the expansion of endometrial mesenchymal stem cells for tissue engineering.

Researchers of the Institute of Cell Therapy also presented 3 research reports:

  • Transplantation of placental adherent cells does not affect mid/late tumor progression in dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats
  • Hematopoetic stem/progenitor cells from human placental tissue, umbilical cord blood and fetal liver
  • Placental derivedmultipotent cells possess trophoblast specific features

The papers present unique data on the study of the biological properties of stem cells of the placenta, umbilical cord blood, fetal liver and the prospects for the use of placental stem cells in the treatment of malignant tumor diseases.

Source: stemcellclinic.com

 

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