Systemic administration of interferon‐beta expressing human umbilical cord matrix stem (UCMS‐ IFN‐β) cells reduce metastatic lung cancer burden in SCID mice.

Abstract

Umbilical cord matrix stem (UCMS) cells are derived from Wharton’s jelly and have been shown to express genes characteristic of primitive stem cells. Stem cells that migrate specifically to tumors may allow targeted delivery of therapeutic agents that otherwise may have severe side effects. To evaluate the selective engraftment and therapeutic efficiency of human UCMS cells, MDA 231 cells were intravenously (i.v) injected into SCID mice, followed by three weekly i.v injections of UCMS cells engineered to express interferon beta (UCMS-IFN-β). To evaluate the synergistic effect of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and IFN-β, MDA 231 cells were i.v injected into SCID mice, followed by three weekly i.v injections of UCMS-IFN-β cells and three weekly i.p injections of 5-FU. In both of the above experiments, mice were euthanatized one week after the last UCMS cell transplant and lung weights were compared to the controls to determine the differences in tumor burden. After transplantation of UCMS-IFN-β cells into MDA 231 tumor-bearing mice, UCMS cells were found near or within metastatic lung tumors but not in other tissues, and in these animals, the lung weight was significantly less than MDA 231 tumor-bearing animals that received saline injections. Histologically there was a significantly reduced tumor area in MDA 231 tumor bearing lungs after UCMS-IFN-β treatment. When 5-FU was given along with UCMS-IFN-β cells there was further reduction in tumor area. These results indicate the usability of UCMS cells in cancer therapy. Thus, UCMS cells can potentially be used for targeted delivery of cancer therapeutics.