Autologous, Non-Invasively Available Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Outer Root Sheath of Hair Follicle Are Obtainable by Migration from Plucked Hair Follicles and Expandable in Scalable Amounts.

Hanluo Li,Marie Schneider,Bernd Lethaus,Tina Kottek,Sebastian Hahnel,Danilo Obradović,Jan-Christoph Simon,Vuk Savković,Kensuke Yamauchi,Sandra Franz,Sook Jung Yun,Jong-Keun Seon,Federica Francesca Masieri,Rubén A Ferrer

doi:10.3390/cells9092069

Abstract

Background: Regenerative therapies based on autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as well as stem cells in general are still facing an unmet need for non-invasive sampling, availability, and scalability. The only known adult source of autologous MSCs permanently available with no pain, discomfort, or infection risk is the outer root sheath of the hair follicle (ORS). Methods: This study presents a non-invasively-based method for isolating and expanding MSCs from the ORS (MSCORS) by means of cell migration and expansion in air–liquid culture. Results: The method yielded 5 million cells of pure MSCORS cultured in 35 days, thereby superseding prior art methods of culturing MSCs from hair follicles. MSCORS features corresponded to the International Society for Cell Therapy characterization panel for MSCs: adherence to plastic, proliferation, colony forming, expression of MSC-markers, and adipo-, osteo-, and chondro-differentiation capacity. Additionally, MSCORS displayed facilitated random-oriented migration and high proliferation, pronounced marker expression, extended endothelial and smooth muscle differentiation capacity, as well as a paracrine immunomodulatory effect on monocytes. MSCORS matched or even exceeded control adipose-derived MSCs in most of the assessed qualities. Conclusions: MSCORS qualify for a variety of autologous regenerative treatments of chronic disorders and prophylactic cryopreservation for purposes of acute treatments in personalized medicine.

Highlights

IntroductionThe bench-to-bedside concept in regenerative cell-based therapies has been gaining momentum
The bench-to-bedside concept in regenerative cell-based therapies has been gaining momentum.In this light, wellbeing of the patient is considered a matter of the final successful therapeutic output coupled with minimized disadvantages such as discomfort, trauma, risk of infection, sampling amount, and aberrant immune response as well as with maximized harvest and constant availability of autologous material, relieved of ethical challenges
This study presents a reproducible method of culturing mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from the outer root sheath (ORS) in therapy-relevant numbers and in early passages

Summary

Introduction

The bench-to-bedside concept in regenerative cell-based therapies has been gaining momentum In this light, wellbeing of the patient is considered a matter of the final successful therapeutic output coupled with minimized disadvantages such as discomfort, trauma, risk of infection, sampling amount, and aberrant immune response as well as with maximized harvest and constant availability of autologous material, relieved of ethical challenges. Meeting these needs and incorporating them into regulatory requirements for cell therapies adds to their complexity [1,2,3]. Conclusions: MSCORS qualify for a variety of autologous regenerative treatments of chronic disorders and prophylactic cryopreservation for purposes of acute treatments in personalized medicine

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion