Perivascular Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Sheep: Characterization and Autologous Transplantation in a Model of Articular Cartilage Repair

Paul Hindle*, James Baily, Nusrat Khan, Leela C. Biant, A. Hamish R. Simpson, Bruno Péault

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that purified perivascular stem cells (PSCs) have increased chondrogenic potential compared to conventional mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived in culture. This study aimed to develop an autologous large animal model for PSC transplantation and to specifically determine if implanted cells are retained in articular cartilage defects. Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting were used to ascertain the reactivity of anti-human and anti-ovine antibodies, which were combined and used to identify and isolate pericytes (CD34-CD45-CD146+) and adventitial cells (CD34+CD45-CD146-). The purified cells demonstrated osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic potential in culture. Autologous ovine PSCs (oPSCs) were isolated, cultured, and efficiently transfected using a green fluorescence protein (GFP) encoding lentivirus. The cells were implanted into articular cartilage defects on the medial femoral condyle using hydrogel and collagen membranes. Four weeks following implantation, the condyle was explanted and confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated the presence of oPSCs in the defect repaired with the hydrogel. These data suggest the testability in a large animal of native MSC autologous grafting, thus avoiding possible biases associated with xenotransplantation. Such a setting will be used in priority for indications in orthopedics, at first to model articular cartilage repair.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1659-1669
Number of pages11
JournalStem Cells and Development
Volume25
Issue number21
Early online date23 Aug 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2016

Keywords

  • autologous stem cell transplantation
  • CD34
  • green fluorescent protein
  • in vivo tracking
  • pericytes
  • sheep model

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