Angiogenic activity of mesenchymal stem cells in multiple myeloma

The pathophysiology of multiple myeloma-induced angiogenesis is complex and involves both direct production of angiogenic cytokines by plasma cells and their induction within the microenvironment. In this research, we investigated whether mesenchymal stem cells participated in inducing the angiogenic response in multiple myeloma, and explored the mechanism by which MSCs influence myeloma angiogenesis. We detected the concentration of angiogenic factors (bFGF, HGF, and VEGF) in the conditioned medium of mesenchymal stem cells and the capillary formation ability of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. We found that conditioned medium of MSCs derived from MM significantly promoted the proliferation, chemotaxis, and capillary formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells compared with that from normal donors. ELISA and RT-PCR were used to detect the mRNA and protein levels of angiogenic factors (bFGF, HGF, and VEGF) in the conditioned medium. We found that mRNA and protein levels of angiogenic factors were elevated in MSCs from multiple myeloma compared with normal donors.