Unselected CD117 (c-Kit) Expression in Amniotic and Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Implications for Cell-Based Therapies
Stefanie P. Lazow* MD, Ina Kycia* PhD, Sarah A. Tracy MD, David Zurakowski PhD, Dario O. Fauza MD, PhD Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA *Co-first-authors
Background:
Amniotic fluid-derived and placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (afMSCs and pMSCs) have proven beneficial in experimental cell-based therapies for surgical diseases. CD117 (c-Kit) selection has been associated with higher MSC therapeutic efficacy. We therefore compared CD117 expression in non-CD117-selected afMSCs and pMSCs at different passages.
Methods:
Syngeneic Lewis rat afMSCs and pMSCs underwent flow cytometry to confirm mesenchymal progenitor phenotype. Cells were cryopreserved for two years and thawed in standard MSC media. Flow cytometry was performed for CD117 expression at passages 10 (P10) and 12 (P12). Statistical comparisons included chi-square analysis and the Wald test (p<0.05).
Results:
At P10, 99.0% (95% CI: 98.7%-99.2%) of afMSCs expressed CD117 versus 86.0% (95% CI: 85.0%-87.0%) of pMSCs (p<0.001; Figure). At P12, 75.4% (95% CI: 74.4%-76.4%) of afMSCs expressed CD117 versus 57.8% (95%CI: 56.5%-59.1%) of pMSCs (p<0.001; Figure). Both afMSCs and pMSCs showed a significant decrease in CD117 expression between P10 and P12 (p<0.001), though this reduction was significantly higher in pMSCs compared to afMSCs (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
CD117 is highly expressed even in unselected amniotic fluid- and placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells, with significantly higher levels in the former. Passage-dependent decrease in CD117 expression is less pronounced in amniotic cells. These findings may explain previously reported differences in therapeutic effects of these two cell types in diverse models and should inform donor cell selection for fetal mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies.
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