Abstract 4544

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) have been found to enhance engraftment of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), plus show effect against graft-versus host disease (GVHD) because of their immunosuppressive properties. However, harvesting these cells is an invasive and painful procedure. To substitute BMMSCs from alternative sources is necessary. We intravenously infused ex vivo-expanded third-party umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) obtained from a bank 8 times in 3 patients who developed severe, steroid-resistant acute GVHD after allogeneic HSCT. The acute GVHD improved with each infusion of UCMSCs. Besides, after cotransplantation of cord blood and UCMSCs in 5 patients, we found UCMSCs enhanced absolute neutrophil counts and platelet counts recovery. No adverse effects after UCMSCs infusions were noted. We also found that UCMSCs had superior proliferative potential and greater immunosuppressive effects than BMMSCs in vitro. This is the first report of UCMSCs in human clinical application. These findings suggest UCMSCs are effective in treating aGVHD and can enhance hematopoiesis after HSCT. Considering that they are not only easy to obtain but also proliferate rapidly, UCMSCs would be the ideal candidate for cell-based therapy, especially for diseases associated with immune responses because of their immunosuppressive effects.

Disclosures:

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Topics:
adverse effects, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, bone marrow, graft-versus-host disease, graft-versus-host disease, acute, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, hematopoietic stem cells, immunosuppressive agents, infusion procedures, pain
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Asterisk with author names denotes non-ASH members.

© 2010 by The American Society of Hematology
2010
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