Abstract
The clinical application of cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) to treat cardiac disease has gained increasing interest over the past decade. Recent clinical trials confirm their regenerative capabilities, although much remains to be elucidated about their basic biology. To develop this new treatment modality, in a cost effective and standardized workflow, necessitates the creation of cryopreserved cell lines to facilitate access for cardiac patients requiring urgent therapy. Cryopreservation may however lead to alterations in cell behavior and potency. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cryopreservation on canine CDCs. CDCs and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from five dogs were characterized. CDCs demonstrated a population doubling time that was unchanged by cryopreservation (fresh vs. cryopreserved; 57.13 ± 5.27 h vs. 48.94 ± 9.55 h, P = 0.71). This was slower than for MSCs (30.46 h, P < 0.05). The ability to form clones, self-renew, and commit to multiple lineages was unaffected by cryopreservation. Cryopreserved CDCs formed larger cardiospheres compared to fresh cells (P < 0.0001). Fresh CDCs showed a high proportion of CD105+ (89.0% ± 4.98) and CD44+ (99.68% ± 0.13) cells with varying proportions of CD90+ (23.36% ± 9.78), CD34+ (7.18% ± 4.03) and c-Kit+ (13.17% ± 8.67) cells. CD45+ (0.015% ± 0.005) and CD29+ (2.92% ± 2.46) populations were negligible. Increasing passage number of fresh CDCs correlated with an increase in the proportion of CD34+ and a decrease in CD90+ cells (P = 0.003 and 0.03, respectively). Cryopreserved CDCs displayed increased CD34+ (P < 0.001) and decreased CD90+ cells (P = 0.042) when compared to fresh cells. Overall, our study shows that cryopreservation of canine CDCs is feasible without altering their stem characteristics, thereby facilitating their utilization for clinical trials. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.
Highlights
Non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common cardiac disease of dogs, accounting for 10% of canine cardiac diagnoses [1]
Subcutaneous adipose tissue was harvested from the popliteal region and placed in mesenchymal stem cell media (MSCM) consisting of high glucose (4.5 g/L) Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) (Thermo Fisher Scientific) supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% P/S
By comparison mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) prepared from adipose tissue showed typical spindle shaped cells, which were homogeneous in morphology (Fig. 1F)
Summary
Non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common cardiac disease of dogs, accounting for 10% of canine cardiac diagnoses [1]. DCM is a heterogeneous disease of the canine myocardium that demonstrates breed specific characteristics at pathological and clinical levels [2]. Two distinct histopathological variations of canine DCM have been described; attenuated wavy fibre type and fibro-fatty infiltration type [7]. Fibro-fatty infiltration is considered analogous to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in humans because of the comparable pathological changes and clinical presentation between the two species [8,9,10,11,12]. The electrical uncoupling together with fibro-fatty replacement of the myocardium are considered primary substrates for arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death is a frequent consequence [10]. Treatment options are limited and directed towards controlling clinical signs but do not promote myocardial repair or reduce disease progression
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