Functional heterogeneity of IFN-γ-licensed mesenchymal stromal cell immunosuppressive capacity on biomaterials

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 118; no. 35; p. 1
• Main Authors: Kwee, Brian J, Lam, Johnny, Akue, Adovi, KuKuruga, Mark A, Zhang, Kunyu, Gu, Luo, Sung, Kyung E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 31.08.2021
• Subjects: Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - metabolism; Biological Sciences; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Cell activation; Cell proliferation; Clinical trials; Collagen; Collagen - chemistry; Collagen - metabolism; Dioxygenase; Fibrin; Fibrin - chemistry; Fibrin - metabolism; Heterogeneity; Humans; Hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydrogels - metabolism; Immunosuppression Therapy; Immunosuppressive agents; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase - metabolism; Integrin alpha2beta1 - metabolism; Integrins; Interferon; Interferon-gamma - pharmacology; Lymphocytes T; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - drug effects; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - metabolism; Mesenchyme; Stromal cells; Subpopulations; γ-Interferon; immunosuppression; biomaterials; interferon-gamma; mesenchymal stromal cells
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105972118

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly combined with biomaterials to enhance their therapeutic properties, including their immunosuppressive function. However, clinical trials utilizing MSCs with or without biomaterials have shown limited success, potentially due to their functional heterogeneity across different donors and among different subpopulations of cells. Here, we evaluated the immunosuppressive capacity, as measured by the ability to reduce T-cell proliferation and activation, of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-licensed MSCs from multiple donors on fibrin and collagen hydrogels, the two most commonly utilized biomaterials in combination with MSCs in clinical trials worldwide according to Variations in the immunosuppressive capacity between IFN-γ-licensed MSC donors on the biomaterials correlated with the magnitude of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase activity. Immunosuppressive capacity of the IFN-γ-licensed MSCs depended on the α /α integrins when cultured on fibrin and on the α /β integrins when cultured on collagen. While all tested MSCs were nearly 100% positive for these integrins, sorted MSCs that expressed higher levels of α /α integrins demonstrated greater immunosuppressive capacity with IFN-γ licensing than MSCs that expressed lower levels of these integrins on fibrin. These findings were equivalent for MSCs sorted based on the α /β integrins on collagen. These results demonstrate the importance of integrin engagement to IFN-γ licensed MSC immunosuppressive capacity and that IFN-γ-licensed MSC subpopulations of varying immunosuppressive capacity can be identified by the magnitude of integrin expression specific to each biomaterial.