In Vitro Cell Motility as a Potential Mesenchymal Stem Cell Marker for Multipotency

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are expected to have a fundamental role in future cell-based therapies because of their high proliferative ability, multilineage potential, and immunomodulatory properties. Autologous transplantations have the "elephant in the room" problem of wide donor variability, reflected by variability in MSC quality and characteristics, leading to uncertain outcomes in the use of these cells. We propose life imaging as a tool to characterize populations of human MSCs. Bone marrow MSCs from various donors and in vitro passages were evaluated for their in vitro motility, and the distances were correlated to the adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation potentials and the levels of senescence and cell size. Using life-image measuring of track lengths of 70 cells per population for a period of 24 hours, we observed that slow-moving cells had the higher proportion of senescent cells compared with fast ones. Larger cells moved less than smaller ones, and spindleshaped cells had an average speed. Both fast cells and slow cells were characterized by a low differentiation potential, and average-moving cells were more effective in undergoing all three lineage differentiations. Furthermore, heterogeneity in single cell motility within a population correlated with the average-moving cells, and fast-and slow-moving cells tended toward homogeneity (i.e., a monotonous moving pattern). In conclusion, in vitro cell motility might be a useful tool to quickly characterize and distinguish the MSC population's differentiation potential before additional use. STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2015;4:84-90

Recent insights: mesenchymal stromal/stem cell therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome

“…Robust assays of MSC batch potency for ARDS are lacking. However, one recent study observed that cell motility can predict the differentiation potential of MSCs, which may provide a bioassay for characterizing MSC efficacy for certain disease conditions 36 . Another study also recently outlined that MSCs from young mouse donors were more effective than those from aging donors in reducing pulmonary fibrosis 37 .…”

Effects of degradable magnesium on paracrine signaling between human umbilical cord perivascular cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells

“…In the host immune response after Mg implantation, the secretory cytokines were the vital players in the regulation of inflammation. Because of the pro-and anti-inflammatory properties of MSC and PBMC/macrophages, 40,95 this correlation was evaluated via the cytokine production of the inflammatory panel (TNFα, IFNγ, IL1β, IL2, IL4, IL5, IL10, IL13, IL1RA, and G-CSF) in the current TW coculture. In the presence of Mg, HUCPV secreted a lower number of pro-inflammatory TNFα, IFNγ, IL1β, and IL2 on day 4, when the Mg contents in the supernatants reached 18 mM.…”

Quantifying Proliferative and Surface Marker Heterogeneity in Colony Founding Connective Tissue Progenitors and Their Progeny Using Time‐Lapse Microscopy

“…Migration rates determined from mathematical modelling can also serve as a measure of potency. Proliferative colonies with higher migration rates tend to be more chondrogenic than slower proliferating colonies (Bertolo et al, ). Non‐invasive assessments of cell morphology based on observed differences in culture‐expanded MSC populations of different trilineage differentiation capabilities may be informative in inferring colony‐level heterogeneity (Seiler et al, ).…”