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Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Isolating Nasal Olfactory Stem Cells from Rodents or Humans
Published on: August 22, 2011
Comparative miRNA-Based Fingerprinting Reveals Biological Differences in Human Olfactory Mucosa- and
Susan Louise Lindsay1, Steven Andrew Johnstone1, Michael Anthony McGrath1
1Institute of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
Abstract:
Previously we reported that nestin-positive human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from the olfactory mucosa (OM) enhanced CNS myelination in vitro to a greater extent than bone-marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs). miRNA-based fingerprinting revealed the two MSCs were 64% homologous, with 26 miRNAs differentially expressed. We focused on miR-146a-5p and miR-140-5p due to their reported role in the regulation of chemokine production and myelination. The lower expression of miR-140-5p in OM-MSCs correlated with higher secretion of CXCL12 compared with BM-MSCs. Addition of CXCL12 and its pharmacological inhibitors to neural co-cultures supported these data. Studies on related miR-146a-5p targets demonstrated that OM-MSCs had lower levels of Toll-like receptors and secreted less pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-8, and CCL2. OM-MSCs polarized microglia to an anti-inflammatory phenotype, illustrating potential differences in their inflammatory response. Nestin-positive OM-MSCs could therefore offer a cell transplantation alternative for CNS repair, should these biological behaviors be translated in vivo.
