Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Prospects for therapies with adult stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) or the proteins they produce

International Conference on Regenerative & Functional Medicine

November 12-14, 2012 Hilton San Antonio Airport, USA

Darwin J. Prockop

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Stem Cell Res Ther

Abstract:

Therapeutic benefits in a number of models for human disease have been reported with administration of the adult stem/ progenitor cells from bone marrow referred to as mesenchymal stem cells or mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). We observed that intravenously administered MSCs improved myocardial infarction in mice by being trapped in lung where they createdmicroemboli that activated the cells to synthesize TSG-6, and the TSG-6 reduced the excessive inflammatory response that damaged cardiomyocytes (Lee et al. Cell Stem Cell 2009). We also observed that intraocular administration of TSG-6 reduced the excessive inflammatory response that damaged the cornea in a rodent model for chemical injury of the eye (Oh et al. PNAS 2010). In parallel experiments we observed that retinal degeneration was decreased in a rat model for retinitis pigmentosa by intravitreal administration of STC-1 (Roddy et al. Molecular Therapy, 2012), an anti-apoptotic protein produced by hMSCs in response to signals from apoptotic cells (Block et al. Stem Cells 2009). However, in a model for regeneration of rat meniscus, hMSCs engrafted for several weeks and enhanced regeneration in part by being activation to express genes that are expressed during endochondrial ossification: Ihh, BMP-2 and PTHLH (Horie et al. under review). The results indicate that some of the therapeutic benefits observed with administration of MSCs in disease models can be duplicated by administration of therapeutic factors the cells produce such as TSG-6 or STC-1. However, other beneficial effects are apparently explained by more complex interactions between the cells and the microenvironments created by injuries to specific tissues. Supported in part by NIH grants HL 073755, PO1 RR 17447 and 1R21EY020962.

Biography :

Darwin J. Prockop, M.D., Ph.D., is the Director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Scott &White in Temple, X. He has done research on collagen biosynthesis, mutations causing skeletal disorders and, more recently, on adult stem/ progenitor cells from bone marrow referred to as mesenchymal stem cells or multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). The efforts of his research group have focused on both the basic biology of MSCs and their potential therapeutic uses in diabetes, and in diseases of the lung, heart, central nervous system and skeletal system. He has published over 500 papers in reviewed journals. He has received four honorary degrees and he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.