Human mesenchymal stem cells-like cells as cellular vehicles for delivery of immunotoxin in vitro

Human mesenchymal stem cells-like cells (hMSCs-like cells) were used as a tumor treatment platform for the systemic delivery of immunotoxin genes. VEGF165-PE38 recombinant immunotoxin served as the model system. hMSCs-like cells were isolated, expanded, and electroporated with the pIRES2-VEGF165PE38-EGFP plasmid. RT-PCR and ELISA were used to confirm the expression of VEGF165-PE38 in the transfected hMSCs-like cells. These cells released 1390 +/- 137 pg VEGF165-PE38/10(4)cells over 48 h into the culture medium and the supernatant was capable of selectively killing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and increasing apoptosis in these cells. In contrast, RPMI8226 was not inhibited by identical supernatants. Thus, these results lay the foundation for further studies on the potential role of hMSCs-like cells as a targeted therapeutic delivery vehicle for immunotoxins.