Not a Process of Simple Vicariousness, the Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells Plays an Important Role in Acute Kidney Injury Repairing

Abstract

The recent findings indicate that under conditions of severe tubular injuries, transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be a promising treatment in acute kidney diseases; nevertheless, the underling mechanism is still under debate. To investigate the differentiation characteristics and the role of MSCs in renal tubular injury, human adipose-derived MSCs (hAD-MSCs) were transplanted into ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) kidneys in C57BL/6 mouse model. Results showed that hAD-MSCs were able to differentiate toward renal tubular epithelium at an early stage of injuries. The differentiated donor cells replaced the vacant space left over by the dead cells, contributed to maintenance of structural integrity and proceeded to a subsequent tissue repair process. Furthermore, MSCs as supportive cells may promote repair via secreting cytokines. The differentiation and replacement of MSCs at an extremely early stage play important roles for the subsequent self-repair and -renewal of functional cells. Direct differentiation of MSCs, as an important mechanism of injured kidney repair, warrants further investigation.

Stem cells from adipose tissue

“…Human ASCs in vitro [19] Human ASCs in athymic nude rats [39] Chondrogenic differentiation Human ASCs in vitro [56,57,91,92] Human ASCs in SCID mice [54] Osteogenic differentiation Human ASCs in vitro [93][94][95][96] Human ASCs in nude mice [97] Human ASCs in SCID mice [19,98] Human ASCs in athymic mice [45] Human ASCs in rats [75] Rat ASCs in SD rats [40] Myogenic differantiation Human ASCs in vitro [60,[99][100][101] Human ASCs in mdx mice [102] Human ASCs in nude mice [34] Cardiomyogenic differentiation Human ASCs in vitro [103,104] Rat ASCs in rats [105] Neuronal differentiation Human ASCs in vitro [43,106] Canine ASCs in dogs with spinal cord injuries [107] Rat ASCs in rats [70] Osteogenic constructs with intrinsic vascularization Human ASCs in nude mice [66,69] Epithelial differentiation Human ASCS in vitro [59,74] Kidney differentiation Human ASCs in C57BL/6 mice [108] Pancreatic differentiation Human ASCs in vitro [72,73] Hepatocyte differentiation Human ASCs in Pfp/Rag2 knockout mice [77] Human ASCs in Ccl4 mice [76] Periodontal tissue regeneration Rat ASCs in rats [109] The proposed uses for ASCs in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are collected in Tab. 1.…”

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Alleviates Interstitial Cystitis by Activating Wnt Signaling Pathway

“…Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitor cells that are able to differentiate into a range of cell types, including the mesoderm-(eg, muscle, stroma) and ectoderm-lineage tissues (eg, epithelium and neuron) [15][16][17][18]. MSCs secrete several cytokines and growth factors that provide beneficial paracrine effects [19].…”

Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Versus their Conditioned Medium on Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Albino Rat. A Histological and Immunohistochemical Study

“…The MSCs have been also documented to trans-differentiate into tubular epithelium in mice at early stage of ischemic reperfusion renal injury. The differentiated donor cells replaced the denuded surface, therefore contributed to the maintenance of the structural integrity of renal tubules [28] . Interestingly, the surviving renal epithelial cells following renal injury might undergo dedifferentiation, acquiring mesenchymal features.…”