Candidate stem cell isolation and transplantation in Hexacorallia

Shani Talice; Itamar Kozlovski; Shany K Barkan; Grace A Snyder; Ton Sharoni; Tom Levy; Shelly Oisher; Aner Ottolenghi; Shir Eliachar; Ronit Ben-Romano; Keren Berlyne; Ronnie Yannai; Magda Lewandowska; Eliya Sultan; Oron Goldstein; Reuven Aharoni; Uzi Hadad; Claytus Davis; Yehu Moran; Orly Gershoni-Yahalom; Nikki Traylor-Knowles; Benyamin Rosental

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114944

Candidate stem cell isolation and transplantation in Hexacorallia

Cell Rep. 2024 Nov 1;43(11):114944. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114944. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shani Talice¹, Itamar Kozlovski², Shany K Barkan¹, Grace A Snyder³, Ton Sharoni², Tom Levy⁴, Shelly Oisher⁵, Aner Ottolenghi⁵, Shir Eliachar⁵, Ronit Ben-Romano⁵, Keren Berlyne⁵, Ronnie Yannai⁵, Magda Lewandowska², Eliya Sultan⁵, Oron Goldstein⁵, Reuven Aharoni², Uzi Hadad⁶, Claytus Davis⁵, Yehu Moran², Orly Gershoni-Yahalom⁵, Nikki Traylor-Knowles⁷, Benyamin Rosental⁸

Affiliations

¹ The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; The Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
² Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
³ The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
⁴ Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.
⁵ The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
⁶ Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
⁷ Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39487989
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114944

Abstract

Stem cells are the foundation for cell therapy due to their ability to self-renew, differentiate into other cell types, and persist throughout the life of an organism. Stem cell isolation and transplantation have not yet been established in Hexacorallia, a cnidarian subclass containing stony corals and sea anemones. Here, we demonstrate that candidate stem cells in the hexacorallian Nematostella vectensis can be transplanted into adult animals. These cells exhibited the hallmarks of stem cell functional properties; they integrated into recipients' tissues and rescued them from lethal doses of chemotherapy. Additionally, these cells proliferated and survived serial transplantations. Notably, we showed that this cellular subpopulation can be enriched by sorting using species-non-specific cell markers and that similar subpopulations of cells can be isolated from other hexacorallians, including stony corals. This research establishes the basis for studying stem cell biology on a functional level in Hexacorallia.

Keywords: CP: Stem cell research; Hexacorallia; Nematostella vectensis; cell therapy; corals; stem cells; transplantation.