How to track cellular aging of mesenchymal stromal cells?

Abstract

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are currently tested in a large number of clinical trials and raise high hope inregenerative medicine. These cells have to be expanded in vitro before transplantation and several studies demonstratedthat long-term culture evokes continuous changes in MSC: proliferation rate decays, the cell size increases, differentiationpotential is affected, chromosomal instabilities may arise and molecular changes are acquired. Long-term culture of cellpreparations might also have therapeutic consequences, although this has hardly been addressed in ongoing trials so far. Reliable therapeutic regimens necessitate quality control of cellular products. This research perspective summarizesavailable methods to track cellular aging of MSC. We have demonstrated that gene expression changes [1] and epigeneticmodifications [2] are continuously acquired during replicative senescence. Molecular analysis of a suitable panel of genesmight provide a robust tool to assess efficiency and safety of long-term expansion. © Wagner et al.