Functional comparison of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells obtained from COPD patients and non-COPD controls

Introduction: Autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) are evaluated for clinical use in COPD patients, but it is unclear whether COPD affects BM-MSC function. Aim: To investigate if BM-MSC function and therapeutic potential is affected by underlying COPD. Methods: BM-MSCs from 9 COPD patients and 9 non-COPD controls were investigated for several functional parameters, including differentiation into adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes, response to pro-inflammatory stimuli and oxidative stress, and their ability to increase wound repair and EGFR ligands in NCI-H292 bronchial epithelial cells. Results: The morphology of BM - MSCs obtained from COPD patients did not differ from that of controls. In MSC differentiation assays, adipocyte differentiation was higher in COPD donors (p = 0.046), whereas osteoblast and chondrocyte differentiation appeared somewhat more pronounced in non-COPD donors (p = 0.2). In response to TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression of several growth factors and cytokines was induced, but this did not differ between groups. Also, cigarette smoke condensate and sulforaphane induced expression of oxidative stress genes (HMOX1, SCAL and NQO1) to a similar extent in both groups. No differences between groups were observed in their potential to induce EGFR ligands and wound repair in NCI-H292. Conclusion: BM-MSCs from COPD donors are phenotypically and functionally comparable to those from non-COPD controls and show no signs of impaired function. This finding is relevant for the potential clinical application of autologous MSCs for treatment of COPD.