Adv Med Sci. 2017 Nov 6;63(1):119-126. doi: 10.1016/j.advms.2017.08.002. [Epub ahead of print]

Effect of gestational age on migration ability of the human umbilical cord vein mesenchymal stem cells.

Mohammadi M¹, Mohammadi M², Rezaee MA³, Ghadimi T⁴, Abolhasani M¹, Rahmani MR⁵.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Migration ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) towards chemotactic mediators is a determinant factor in cell therapy. MSCs derived from different sources show different properties. Here we compared the migration ability of the term and the pre-term human umbilical cord vein MSCs (hUCV-MSCs).

MATERIALS/METHODS:

MSCs were isolated from term and pre-term umbilical cord vein, and cultured to passage 3-4. Migration rate of both groups was assessed in the presence of 10% FBS using chemotaxis assay. Surface expression of CXCR4 was measured by flow cytometery. The relative gene expression of CXCR4, IGF1-R, PDGFRα, MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 were evaluated using real time PCR.

RESULTS:

The isolation rate of the pre-term hUCV-MSCs was higher than the term hUCV-MSCs. Phenotype characteristics and differentiation ability of the term and pre-term hUCV-MSCs were not different. The migration rate of the pre-term hUCV-MSCs was more than the term hUCV-MSCs. Gene and surface expressions of the CXCR4 were both significantly higher in the pre-term hUCV-MSCs (P≤0.05). The mRNA levels of PDGFRα, MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 showed no significant difference between the two groups.

CONCLUSION:

Our results showed that the gestational age can affect the migration ability of the hUCV-MSCs.