Thrombin Preconditioning Enhances Therapeutic Efficacy of Human Wharton’s Jelly–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Severe Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

• Main Authors: Young Eun Kim, Se In Sung, Yun Sil Chang, So Yoon Ahn, Dong Kyung Sung, Won Soon Park
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: mesenchymal stem cell transplantation; hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; translational medical research; infant; newborn; diseases
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/10/2477

We investigated whether thrombin preconditioning of human Wharton’s jelly−derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) improves paracrine potency and thus the therapeutic efficacy of naïve MSCs against severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Thrombin preconditioning significantly enhances the neuroprotective anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-cytotoxic effects of naïve MSCs against oxygen−glucose deprivation (OGD) of cortical neurons in vitro. Severe HIE was induced in vivo using unilateral carotid artery ligation and hypoxia for 2 h and confirmed using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) involving >40% of ipsilateral hemisphere at postnatal day (P) 7 in newborn rats. Delayed intraventricular transplantation of 1 × 10⁵ thrombin preconditioned but not naïve MSCs at 24 h after hypothermia significantly enhanced observed anti-inflammatory, anti-astroglial, and anti-apoptotic effects and the ensuing brain infarction; behavioral tests, such as cylinder rearing and negative geotaxis tests, were conducted at P42. In summary, thrombin preconditioning of human Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs significantly boosted the neuroprotective effects of naïve MSCs against OGD in vitro by enhancing their anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-cytotoxic effects, and significantly attenuated the severe HIE-induced brain infarction and improved behavioral function tests in vivo by maximizing their paracrine anti-inflammatory, anti-astroglial, and anti-apoptotic effects.