Comparative analysis of human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells between preeclampsia and normal pregnant women

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a syndrome characterized by deterioration of either the maternal condition or the fetal condition. The adverse intrauterine environment made by preeclampsia results into intrauterine growth restriction, and increased risk of a variety of diseases in future life. Given the adverse environment of fetal circulation made in the preeclamptic condition, and the role of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) as a multipotent progenitor cell, it is reasonable to hypothesize that MSCs derived from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB-MSCs) obtained from preeclampsia may be perturbed compared with normal pregnancy. The aim of this study was to analyze the biological characteristics, and compare the functional abilities and gene expression patterns of hUCB-MSCs originating from pregnant women with and without preeclampsia. hUCB-MSCs were isolated, and cultured from 28 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia and 30 normal pregnant women. Characterization analysis of hUCB-MSCs including flow cytometry, semi quantitative real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), immunofluorescence staining, and in vitro differentiation studies, comparative analysis including proliferation assay, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) assay, telomerase activity assay, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity assay, and comparison of gene expression including gene expression pattern using microarray, hierarchical cluster analysis of differentially expressed genes, gene ontology classification, and pathway network analysis between two groups were performed. hUCB-MSCs obtained from women with preeclampsia were less proliferative, more senescent, and had lower telomerase activity and higher ROS activity than cells from women with normal pregnancy. Many senescence-related DEGs were identified by analysis of gene expression profiles, and significantly associated with the gene ontology term cell aging. In conclusion, hUCB-MSCs obtained from women with preeclampsia are functionally defective compared with cells from women with normal pregnancy.