Author(s)

Fang Li, Feng Xiong, Yun Zhang, Yuying Li, Hongmei Zhao, S. Charles Cho, Thomas E. Ichim, Xiaofei Yang, Xiang Hu

5Medistem Inc., San Diego, USA.
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Shenzhen Beike Cell Engineering Research Institution, Shenzhen, China.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army 211 Hospital, Harbin, China.

Introduction: Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) is the most prevalent cause of acute renal failure (ARF). Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation has been studied as a potential treatment for renal dysfunction due to ATN. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) are surrogate markers of renal tubular epithelial regeneration and subsequent recovery of renal function following ATN. Methods: Serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), as well as expression of iNOS, BMP-7 and Bcl-2 in gentamycin-induced ATN rat kidneys was investigated after human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (HUC-MSC) transplantation. Immunohistochemical staining was performed in 3 groups of rats: gentamycin-induced ATN treated with HUC-MSC, gentamycin-induced ATN without HUC-MSC, and untreated rats not receiving any treatments. Results: HUC-MSC transplantation led to a reduction in Scr and BUN in the kidneys of rats with gentamycin-induced ATN. Expression of iNOS in the HUC-MSC treated group occurred later and the expression levels were much lower during gentamycin-induced ATN compared to rats with ATN that were not treated with HUC-MSC. The expression of BMP-7 and Bcl-2 in the MSC-transplanted group was significantly increased compared to both control groups of rats with injured and healthy renal tubules. Conclusions: HUC-MSCs induce renal protection in a rat model of gentamycin-induced ATN, which is associated with reduced iNOS expression and up-regulation of Bcl-2 and BMP-7.

Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN); Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (HUC-MSC); Stem Cell Transplantation; Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (INOS); Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7 (BMP-7); B-Cell Lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)

Li, F. , Xiong, F. , Zhang, Y. , Li, Y. , Zhao, H. , Cho, S. , Ichim, T. , Yang, X. and Hu, X. (2013) Therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells against acute tubular necrosis quantified through measures of iNOS, BMP-7 and Bcl-2. Open Journal of Regenerative Medicine, 2, 31-38. doi: 10.4236/ojrm.2013.22006.