Multidistrict human mesenchymal vascular cells: pluripotency and stemness characteristics

Area of Science:

• Vascular Biology
• Stem Cell Research
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• The presence of ectopic tissues in diseased artery walls suggests multipotent stem cells may exist within the vasculature.
• Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been isolated from human vascular segments (VW MSC), challenging the view of the vessel wall as quiescent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the stemness features and multipotency of resident multipotent cells within different human arterial segments.
• To characterize these vascular wall mesenchymal stromal cells (VW MSC) for potential therapeutic applications.

Main Methods:

• Resident multipotent cells were recovered from fresh human arterial segments (aortic arches, thoracic and femoral arteries).
• In situ and in vitro studies were conducted to assess stemness features and multipotency of these multidistrict VW MSC populations.
• Characterization included marker expression, dye efflux capability, spheroid formation, colony formation, and differentiation potential.

Main Results:

• Notch-1+, Stro-1+, Sca-1+, and Oct-4+ cells were found in an arterial wall vasculogenic niche.
• VW MSC homogeneously expressed stemness markers (Stro-1, Notch-1, Oct-4) and MSC lineage markers (CD44, CD90, CD105, CD73, CD29, CD166), but not hematopoietic or endothelial markers.
• VW MSC demonstrated adipogenic, chondrogenic, and leiomyogenic potential, with less osteogenic differentiation capacity.

Conclusions:

• These findings suggest multipotent stem cells reside within the vascular wall, contributing to its potential regenerative capacity.
• The characterized VW MSC hold promise for cellular, genetic, and tissue engineering approaches in treating vascular pathologies.