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TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS |
a Stem Cell Institute,
b Department of Neurosurgery,
c Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA;
d Clínica Universitaria, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain;
e Department of Cell Biology, Instituto Cavanilles and Centro de Investigacion Principe Felipe, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain;
f Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA;
g Division of Neurosciences, Centre for Applied Medical Research, Pamplona, Spain
Key Words. Adult bone marrow stem cells • Label • Bromodeoxyuridine • Thymidine analog • Control • Transplantation • Neural differentiation • In vivo tracking
Correspondence: Catherine M. Verfaillie, M.D., Stem Cell Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. Telephone: 612-625-0602; Fax: 612-624-2436; e-mail: verfa001{at}umn.edu
Received on September 22, 2005;
accepted for publication on December 5, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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During the past 6 years, several studies have indicated that marrow stromal cells or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) grafted into the brain of mice and rats can also differentiate in a region-specific manner into neurons and/or glia, suggesting greater lineage differentiation ability than was previously thought possible [912]. We have also shown that multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs), another stem cell population isolated from bone marrow, can contribute to the brain of mice in a region-specific manner when introduced in the blastocyst [13, 14]. We wished to determine whether MAPCs could also engraft and differentiate in the brains of postnatal animals.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Neonatal Transplantation
Animal studies were performed in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Minnesota. Two microliters containing approximately 100,000 cells were stereotaxically transplanted into the brain of P5 neonatal animals as described [16]. Briefly, animals were anesthetized by cooling under 10 cm of wet ice for 1 minute per gram, then fixed in a Kopf hypothermic neonatal frame (David Kopf Instruments, Tujunga, CA, http://www.kopfinstruments.com). Cells were injected using a 26-gauge needle attached to a 10-µl Hamilton syringe (Hamilton, Reno, NV, http://www.hamiltoncompany.com). Coordinates (in mm) were as follows: i.c.v., +1.0 anteroposterior (AP), ±1.2 mediolaternal (ML), 2.1 dorsoventral (DV) from bregma (n = 35 in multiple experiments including live and dead LacZ and GFP MAPCs); cerebellum, 1.0 AP, ±1 ML, 3.0 DV from lambda (n = 2 LacZ MAPCs).
Transuterine Transplantation
Two microliters containing approximately 50,000 BrdU-labeled fibroblasts were injected into the lateral brain ventricles of embryos (E14.5) of one pregnant CD-1 mouse using a Harvard programmable injector (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA, http://www.harvardapparatus.com) and flexible 30-gauge Hamilton needle.
Transplantation into the Subventricular Zone and Rostral Migratory Stream
Dead fibroblasts (150,000 in 2 µl) were transplanted into the subventricular zone (SVZ) (right hemisphere) and rostral migratory stream (RMS) (left hemisphere) of three adult (78 weeks old) CD-1 mice (six grafts total) using the following coordinates: RMS: +2.2 AP, ±1.1 ML, 3.2 DV; SVZ: +1.3 AP, ±1.2 ML, 3.0 DV (mm relative to bregma). The olfactory bulb ipsilateral to each graft was analyzed at 3 weeks to assess the presence of graft-derived BrdU in newly born olfactory bulb neurons.
Transplantation into Ischemic Rat Brain
Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion was performed in two 180220 g spontaneously hypertensive rats. BrdU-labeled GFP fibroblasts (75,000 in 3 µl) were stereotaxically transplanted into the surrounding penumbra at each of three locations. The coordinates used were as follows: 1) 1.0 AP, 2.0 ML, 1.2 DV; 2) 3.0 AP, 1.5 ML, 1.2 DV; 3) 6.0AP, 2.0 ML, 1.2 DV [17]. Animals were sacrificed 7 days after transplantation.
Striatal Transplantation of 3H-TLabeled Cells
GFP rat multipotent adult progenitor cells (rMAPCs) were cultured in the presence of 0.20 mCi/ml of tritiated thymidine (TRA120; GE Healthcare Life SciencesAmersham Biosciences, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, U.K., http://www.amershambiosciences.com) for 20 hours prior to cell preparation. Twenty-two normal adult Sprague-Dawley female rats (250 g) were anaesthetized, and 200,000 cells in 8 µl were injected unilaterally into striatum using coordinates 0.2 AP, +2.6 ML, and 5.4 DV from bregma.
Controls
To control for the possibility that thymidine analog from transplanted cells may be incorporated into dividing host cells, cells were prepared as described but freeze-thawed three to four times on dry ice or liquid nitrogen immediately before transplantation. Absence of cell viability was confirmed by trypan blue inclusion and by replating in cell culture. Supernatant from transplanted cells (n = 8) was removed following the final centrifugation during cell preparation and injected as a negative control for labeled cells. Cells and supernatant were injected in parallel using the following coordinates: i.c.v., 0.0 AP, +1.0 ML, 2.1 DV or +1.0 AP, ±1.0 ML, 2.1 DV (from bregma).
In Vitro Transfer
Eight hundred thousand tritiated thymidine (3H-T)-labeled rMAPCs were cocultured in 12-well cell culture inserts (0.4 µm pore size) for 2 days to determine whether unlabeled cells could take up 3H-T released from labeled cells in vitro. Three variations of 3H-Tlabeled rMAPCs were used for coculture: live cells, cells killed by repeated freeze-thaw (liquid nitrogen), and dead cells subsequently treated with DNase (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, http://www.invitrogen.com) for 30 minutes at room temperature before coculture. Growth medium alone and growth medium with 0.20 µCi/ml 3H-T were used as negative and positive controls for 3H-T uptake, respectively. Cells were fixed and processed for thymidine autoradiography after 2 days. Similar results were obtained using BrdU-labeled fibroblasts (data not shown).
Immunohistochemistry
Animals were transcardially perfused with phosphate-buffered saline followed by 4% formaldehyde. Brains were postfixed for 24 hours and then transferred to 30% sucrose until they sank. Forty- to fifty-micrometer floating sections were processed using BrdU pretreatment as described [4]. Primary antibodies were GFP (1:1,000; Molecular Probes Inc., Eugene, OR, http://probes.invitrogen.com); neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN) (1:100; Chemicon, Temecula, CA, http://www.chemicon.com); nestin 401 (1:50; Chemicon); BrdU (1:250; Accurate; Accurate Chemical and Scientific, Westbury, NY, http://www.accuratechemical.com); BrdU (1:50; BD Pharmingen, San Diego, http://www.bdbiosciences.com/pharmingen), which recognized iododeoxyuridine (IdU) for double labeling of CldU with IdU [18]; glial fibrillary acidic protein (1:500; DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark, http://www.dako.com); and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (1:500; Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, http://www.sigmaaldrich.com). Secondary antibodies were coupled to Cy3, Cy5, fluorescein isothiocyanate (Jackson Immunoresearch Laboratories, West Grove, PA, http://www.jacksonimmuno.com), Alexa 488, Alexa 555, and Alexa 647 (Molecular Probes). The Tyramide Signal Amplification Kit (Molecular Probes) was used according to the manufacturers directions for identification of GFP in animals injected with GFP-rMAPCs. Images were obtained via fluorescence and confocal microscopy and processed using Adobe Photoshop. Confocal single optical sections were approximately 0.4 µm.
Electron Microscopy and [Methyl-3H]-Thymidine Autoradiography
Sagittal 200-mm sections were cut on a Vibratome tissue slicer (Leica Microsystems Nussloch GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany, http://www.leica-microsystems.com). The sections were postfixed in 2% osmium for 2 hours, rinsed, dehydrated, and embedded in Araldite (Durcupan; Fluka BioChemika, Sigma-Aldrich). Serial 1.5-µm-thick semithin sections were cut with a knife and mounted onto slides, dipped in autoradiographic emulsion (Kodak NTB2), exposed for 4 weeks at 4°C, developed in Kodak D-19, and counterstained with 1% toluidine blue. A cell was considered labeled if 10 or more silver grains overlaid the nucleus and the same cell was labeled in three adjacent sections. Seventy 3H-T-labeled cells identified in the semithin sections were selected for electron microscopic examination. Semithin sections were glued (Super Glue) to Araldite blocks and detached from the glass slide by repeated freezing (in liquid nitrogen) and thawing. The block with the flat semithin section was mounted in the ultramicrotome. Ultrathin sections were cut with a diamond knife and examined under a Jeol JEM 1010 electron microscope to determine which cell types incorporated 3H-T [19].
Cell Counting and Image Analysis
3H-T-Labeled cells were counted in representative semithin sections along the mediolateral axis in areas of 100 µm wide, up to 700 µm from the centre of the graft. Consistently in all the sections, width of the graft area was approximately 200 µm in total. Eight hundred four and six hundred sixty-three 3H-T cells were counted in representative slices at 48 hours and 7 days postinjection, respectively. A cell was considered labeled if 10 or more silver grains overlaid the nucleus in three adjacent sections. Quantification of the percentage of GFP-labeled cells at various distances from the graft area was achieved via image analysis of GFP fluorescence using analySIS FIVE image analysis software (Olympus Europa GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, http://www.olympus.com). Percentages were calculated referring to the total area of green fluorescence in each slice. Representative sections from three different animals of each group (48 hours and 7 days) were studied.
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction
Analysis for the presence of graft transgene in host brain was performed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [13]. Briefly, quantitative PCR was carried out on genomic DNA in Taqman SYBR green universal mix PCR buffer using an ABI PRISM 770 (PerkinElmer Life Sciences, Boston, http://www.perkinelmer.com). Primer sequences are available upon request.
| RESULTS |
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Although cells were washed multiple times prior to transplantation, we hypothesized that traces of extracellular CldU or BrdU remaining in the cell suspension could be responsible for the host labeling observed. We thus transplanted supernatant from cell preparation in parallel with cells (n = 8). BrdU labeling was not observed in any animals injected with supernatant (Fig. 2C
), although substantial labeling was observed in all neonatal animals injected with labeled cells. To further verify this result, we directly injected 2 µl of 20 µM BrdU into two other animals; this concentration is double the in vitro BrdU concentration used to label cells for transplantation. Although some host cells were labeled via this technique, the amount of labeling was minimal compared with that obtained after injection of labeled cells (Fig. 2C
).
Thymidine Analogs Are Transferred from Donor to Host Cells in the Adult Brain
We next tested whether or not transfer of thymidine analogs from donor to host cells may also occur in adult animals, where proliferation of host cells occurs at a lower rate. Forty-eight hours and 7 days after transplantation of 3H-T-labeled GFP rMAPCs into normal striatum, GFP-positive cells could be identified in the needle tract. These cells possessed characteristic MSC-like morphology by electron microscopy (Fig. 3B
). No neuronal or glial markers were observed in these cells (data not shown). Only 5%7% of the total number of GFP-positive cells were found outside of the graft area, all within 100 µm of the graft border (insets in Fig. 3A, 3F
). By contrast, almost half of the total number of 3H-Tlabeled cells present in any given graft-containing slice were found outside of the graft area, at distances of up to 600 µm and beyond (Fig. 3C, 3H
).
Ultrastructural analysis of individual 3H-Tlabeled cells revealed labeled astrocytes and microglia (Fig. 3E, 3I
), consistent with their proliferative behavior in regions of injury [20]. 3H-Tlabeled endothelium was also found in 1 out of 8 animals analyzed (Fig. 3J
). Consistent with thymidine analog labeling of glia in an area of injury, BrdU-labeled astrocytes were found after injection of BrdU-labeled GFP fibroblasts into the penumbra surrounding an infarct (Fig. 3K
).
To determine whether adult-born neurons may also incorporate thymidine analogs, dead BrdU-labeled fibroblasts were injected into the SVZ or RMS of adult mice. Substantial BrdU labeling of NeuN+ neurons in the olfactory bulb was observed after each transplant (n = 6; Fig. 3M
), suggesting that dividing host cells may be capable of incorporating graft-derived thymidine analog label regardless of the age of the host animal, the cell type grafted, or the thymidine analog used.
Labeled Cells Contain Sufficient 3H-T to Label Proliferating Cells In Vitro
Finally, to further demonstrate that the quantity of thymidine analog present within a suspension of labeled cells is sufficient to label dividing cells, 3H-T-labeled cells (rMAPCs) were cocultured in vitro in transwells above unlabeled cells. A slight amount of labeling was observed in cells under transwells containing live labeled cells (Fig. 4C
), with somewhat more labeling visible after coculture with dead cells (Fig. 4D
). Overwhelming labeling, however, was observed if the dead cell lysate was first treated with DNase (Fig. 4E
), suggesting that transfer of thymidine analogs from transplanted cells to host cells in vivo may be dependent upon endogenous DNase activity.
| DISCUSSION |
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Recent studies in which nonneural cells were transplanted into the CNS have suggested that marrow stromal cells or mesenchymal stem cells may possess significantly greater plasticity than was previously realized, with the potential to differentiate into tissues from unrelated embryonic germ layers. In these studies, BrdU has been widely used as a sole marker of adult stem cells to assess their potential to integrate and differentiate in the developing or injured CNS [911].
Thymidine analogs are also routinely used to label dividing endogenous cells [26]. The most common fate of newly born cells in the adult brain is apoptosis [27, 28]. Whether BrdU from such apoptotic cells may again be released and thereby become available for incorporation into adjacent dividing cells has not been tested but could compromise the temporal resolution of birth date identification after single bolus injection of BrdU. Some authors have suggested that BrdU may label cells undergoing DNA repair as well as dividing cells [29], especially in the context of injury and prolonged thymidine analog administration. In the present study, however, labeling was observed in host cells undergoing normal development, as evidenced by continued proliferation and time-dependent migration and adoption of neuronal identity (supplemental online Figs. 1
, 3
).
| CONCLUSION |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| DISCLOSURES |
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| REFERENCES |
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