Amniotic fluid stem cells from EGFP transgenic mice attenuate hyperoxia-induced acute lung injury

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 11;8(9):e75383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075383. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

High concentrations of oxygen aggravate the severity of lung injury in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. Although mesenchymal stem cells have been shown to effectively attenuate various injured tissues, there is limited information regarding a role for amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs) in treating acute lung injury. We hypothesized that intravenous delivery of AFSCs would attenuate lung injury in an experimental model of hyperoxia-induced lung injury. AFSCs were isolated from EGFP transgenic mice. The in vitro differentiation, surface markers, and migration of the AFSCs were assessed by specific staining, flow cytometry, and a co-culture system, respectively. The in vivo therapeutic potential of AFSCs was evaluated in a model of acute hyperoxia-induced lung injury in mice. The administration of AFSCs significantly reduced the hyperoxia-induced pulmonary inflammation, as reflected by significant reductions in lung wet/dry ratio, neutrophil counts, and the level of apoptosis, as well as reducing the levels of inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) and early-stage fibrosis in lung tissues. Moreover, EGFP-expressing AFSCs were detected and engrafted into a peripheral lung epithelial cell lineage by fluorescence microscopy and DAPI stain. Intravenous administration of AFSCs may offer a new therapeutic strategy for acute lung injury (ALI), for which efficient treatments are currently unavailable.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Lung Injury / etiology*
  • Acute Lung Injury / pathology
  • Acute Lung Injury / physiopathology
  • Acute Lung Injury / therapy*
  • Amniotic Fluid / cytology*
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Cell Movement
  • Cell Separation
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Edema / complications
  • Female
  • Fibrosis
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics*
  • Hyperoxia / complications*
  • Lung / physiopathology
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Pregnancy
  • Survival Analysis

Substances

  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Cytokines
  • enhanced green fluorescent protein
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins

Grants and funding

This research was supported by grant NSC-98-2313-B-005-012 from the National Science Council and was partly supported by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, Republic of China, under the Aiming Top University plan (ATU-101-S0508). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.