Enhanced angiogenic properties of umbilical cord blood primed by OP9 stromal cells ameliorates neurological deficits in cerebral infarction mouse model

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 262 - 15
• Main Authors: Yoshida, Yasunori, Takeda, Yuki, Yamahara, Kenichi, Yamamoto, Hanae, Takagi, Toshinori, Kuramoto, Yoji, Nakano-Doi, Akiko, Nakagomi, Takayuki, Soma, Toshihiro, Matsuyama, Tomohiro, Doe, Nobutaka, Yoshimura, Shinichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06.01.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/308/575; 692/617/375/1370/534; Angiogenesis; Animal models; Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cerebral infarction; Cerebral Infarction - metabolism; Cerebral Infarction - therapy; Coculture Techniques; Cord blood; Embryo cells; Fetal Blood; Flow cytometry; Humanities and Social Sciences; Infarction; Lesions; Mice; Monocytes; multidisciplinary; Neurological diseases; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Stroke; Stromal cells; Stromal Cells - metabolism; Umbilical cord
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27424-7

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation shows proangiogenic effects and contributes to symptom amelioration in animal models of cerebral infarction. However, the effect of specific cell types within a heterogeneous UCB population are still controversial. OP9 is a stromal cell line used as feeder cells to promote the hematoendothelial differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Hence, we investigated the changes in angiogenic properties, underlying mechanisms, and impact on behavioral deficiencies caused by cerebral infarction in UCB co-cultured with OP9 for up to 24 h. In the network formation assay, only OP9 pre-conditioned UCB formed network structures. Single-cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry analysis showed a prominent phenotypic shift toward M2 in the monocytic fraction of OP9 pre-conditioned UCB. Further, OP9 pre-conditioned UCB transplantation in mice models of cerebral infarction facilitated angiogenesis in the peri-infarct lesions and ameliorated the associated symptoms. In this study, we developed a strong, fast, and feasible method to augment the M2, tissue-protecting, pro-angiogenic features of UCB using OP9. The ameliorative effect of OP9-pre-conditioned UCB in vivo could be partly due to promotion of innate angiogenesis in peri-infarct lesions.