Age-related gene expression profiles of rhesus monkey bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

The objective of this study was to elucidate age-related differences in gene expression profiles of rhesus monkey bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (rhMSC) obtained from fetal, infant, and adult donors relevant to their growth and other properties. Although a high degree of similarity was observed in the rhMSC gene expression profiles when comparing the three age groups, significant differences were found that strongly parallel gene expression profiles of human MSC. In general, there was a trend towards increased abundance of transcripts associated with differentiation and growth arrest with increasing donor age. Conversely, transcripts involved in RNA processing and the negative regulation of gene expression showed a downward trend with increasing donor age. Overall, the observed gene expression profiles were found to be similar to observations that MSC from older individuals show diminished proliferative capacity. These data highlight the importance of use of non-human primates to study the properties of stem and progenitor cells, and for future therapies.