Transamniotic stem cell therapy (TRASCET) for intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR): A comparison between placental and amniotic fluid donor mesenchymal stem cells.

• TRASCET improves fetal outcomes in experimental IUGR. • TRACET with amniotic fluid-derived MSCs is superior to placental-derived MSCs in the rat model of IUGR. • Amniotic fluid-derived MSCs apparently modulate placental inflammation more than their placental-derived counterparts. • Reduction of placental inflammation with TRASCET leads to improved fetal outcomes in an IUGR model. Transamniotic stem cell therapy (TRASCET) with donor mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been shown experimentally to reverse central effects of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). We sought to compare amniotic-fluid and placenta-derived MSCs (afMSCs and pMSCs, respectively) as TRASCET donor cells in a murine IUGR model. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley dams (n=8) were exposed to alternating 12-hour hypoxia (10.5% O 2) cycles, starting on gestational day 15 (E15; term=E21-22). On E17, fetuses (n=100) were divided into four groups. An untreated group had no further manipulations (n=24). Three groups received volume-matched intra-amniotic injections of either saline (sham; n=27), or suspensions of afMSCs (n=24), or pMSCs (n=25). Normal fetuses served as controls (n=21). All infused MSCs consisted of syngeneic Lewis rat cells phenotyped by flow cytometry and GFP-labeled. At term, fetal and placental morphometrics were calculated, and placental TNF-α levels were determined by ELISA. Statistical comparisons were by Fischer's T-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test (p≤0.05). Overall survival of the hypoxic groups was 83% (83/100). Compared to normal, maternal-adjusted fetal weights were significantly decreased in all hypoxia groups (pairwise p<0.001), however only the afMSC group showed higher adjusted-fetal weights than sham (p<0.001). Placental efficiency was decreased in untreated, sham, and pMSC groups (p<0.001-0.056) but normalized in the afMSC group (p=0.205). Maternal-adjusted placental weights were lower than normal in all hypoxia groups (p<0.001-0.045), except for the pMSC group (p=0.387). Amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells are superior to their placenta-derived counterparts in transamniotic stem cell therapy for intrauterine growth restriction in a rat model. Basic/Translational science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]