Gender-independent efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell therapy in sex hormone-deficient bone loss via immunosuppression and resident stem cell recovery

Abstract

Osteoporosis develops with high prevalence in both postmenopausal women and hypogonadal men. Osteoporosis results in significant morbidity, but no cure has been established. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) critically contribute to bone homeostasis and possess potent immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory capability. Here, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of using an infusion of MSCs to treat sex hormone-deficient bone loss and its underlying mechanisms. In particular, we compared the impacts of MSC cytotherapy in the two genders with the aim of examining potential gender differences. Using the gonadectomy (GNX) model, we confirmed that the osteoporotic phenotypes were substantially consistent between female and male mice. Importantly, systemic MSC transplantation (MSCT) not only rescued trabecular bone loss in GNX mice but also restored cortical bone mass and bone quality. Unexpectedly, no differences were detected between the genders. Furthermore, MSCT demonstrated an equal efficiency in rectifying the bone remodeling balance in both genders of GNX animals, as proven by the comparable recovery of bone formation and parallel normalization of bone resorption. Mechanistically, using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based cell-tracing, we demonstrated rapid engraftment but poor inhabitation of donor MSCs in the GNX recipient bone marrow of each gender. Alternatively, MSCT uniformly reduced the CD3+T-cell population and suppressed the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in reversing female and male GNX osteoporosis, which was attributed to the ability of the MSC to induce T-cell apoptosis. Immunosuppression in the microenvironment eventually led to functional recovery of endogenous MSCs, which resulted in restored osteogenesis and normalized behavior to modulate osteoclastogenesis. Collectively, these data revealed recipient sexually monomorphic responses to MSC therapy in gonadal steroid deficiency-induced osteoporosis via immunosuppression/anti-inflammation and resident stem cell recovery.