Comparative Analysis of Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells between Preeclampsia and Normal Pregnant Women

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a syndrome characterized by deterioration of either the maternal condition or the fetal condition. The adverse intrauterine environment made by preeclampsia results into intrauterine growth restriction and increased risk of a variety of diseases in future life. Given the adverse environment of fetal circulation made in the preeclamptic condition, and the role of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) as a multipotent progenitor cell, we hypothesized that MSCs derived from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB-MSCs) obtained from preeclampsia are adversely altered or affected compared with normal pregnancy. The aim of this study was to analyze the biological characteristics and compare the functional abilities and gene expression patterns of hUCB-MSCs originating from pregnant women with and without severe preeclampsia. hUCB-MSCs were isolated and cultured from 28 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia and 30 normal pregnant women. hUCB-MSCs obtained from women with preeclampsia were less proliferative and more senescent and had lower telomerase activity and higher ROS activity than cells from women with normal pregnancy. In addition, many senescence-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by analysis of microarray gene expression profiles and significantly associated with the Gene Ontology term cell aging. In conclusion, hUCB-MSCs obtained from women with preeclampsia showed the poorly proliferative, more senescent, and decreased telomerase activity, and these characters may be related with functional impairment of MSC from preeclampsia compared with cells from normal pregnancy.

The pathological and therapeutic roles of mesenchymal stem cells in preeclampsia

“…Recent studies have found that MSCs dysfunction is associated with the pathogenesis of PE. Human UC-MSCs (hUC-MSCs) obtained from PE women showed elevated ROS levels, decreased telomerase activity, and elevated expression of senescence-related genes (DEGs) ( 24 , 34 ). JunB and Cyclin-D1 are key cell cycle-related modulators.…”

Bioinformatics analysis identifies potential autophagy key genes and immune infiltration in preeclampsia

“…It is widely accepted that the placenta plays a major role in the dysregulation of the pathophysiology of PE (5). This results from harmful events at the maternal-fetal interface, including significant releases of anti-angiogenic and inflammatory factors, as well as oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress (6,7).…”