Int J Stem Cells.  2014 Nov;7(2):98-107. 10.15283/ijsc.2014.7.2.98.

Biochemical and Parasitological Studies on the Effect of hUCB-Selected CD34+ Progenitor/Stem Cells in Mice Infected with Schistosoma mansoni

• Abou-Zied
• Soliman RH
• Hefila SM
• Imam SA

• KMID: 1974597
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15283/ijsc.2014.7.2.98

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Placenta and blood that remained in the umbilical cord is routinely available as a discarded tissue after deliveries and it is free of any legal, moral, ethical or religious objections, providing a high number of multipotent CD34+ progenitor and stem cells. Using ex vivo isolated CD34+ cells from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) have emerged as promising candidates to treat various diseases, including exogenous pathogenic infections. We have expanded to build a rational approach to study the effect of CD34+ cells after damaged liver tissues by the devastating human parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Experimental studies were conducted in the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science and Departments of Parasitology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, SCU, Egypt. We have studied the impact of ex vivo preparation of CD34+ cells from hUCB on S. mansoni-induced liver fibrosis de novo, and treated for shorter and longer periods in vivo. Ova count, ALT and albumin were measured at specific time interval and histopathological examination of liver was conducted to confirm the biochemical results. The data obtained were statistically analyzed by ANOVA between groups. It was found that the administration of CD34+ cells have modestly reduced liver damage; reduced the S. mansoni infection associated elevation in serum levels of ALT; significantly improved serum levels of albumin and reduced egg granuloma diameter in the livers.
CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrated that CD34+ cells can markedly ameliorated liver fibrosis in vivo and may be beneficial for therapy to recover organ structure and/or function of S. mansoni-infected mice.

Keyword

CD34+ Cells; Schistosoma mansoni; Treatment; Granuloma; hUCB; Fibrosis

MeSH Terms

Animals
Egypt
Fetal Blood
Fibrosis
Granuloma
Humans
Liver
Liver Cirrhosis
Mice*
Ovum
Parasitology
Physiology
Placenta
Platyhelminths
Schistosoma mansoni*
Stem Cells
Umbilical Cord
Zoology

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Changes in serum concentrations of albumin (A), and also the ALT values (B) in both normal and S. mansoni-infected control groups versus infected mice groups followed by treatment of CD34+ cells for 24 hour, 48 hour, 1 week, 2 weeks and 3∼4 weeks. *p-value <0.05 and **p-value <0.05.

• 

  Fig. 2. Changes in eggs per 0.1 gram of feces from S. mansoni-infected control groups and infected mice groups followed by treatment of CD34+ cells for 24 hour, 48 hour, 1 week, 2 weeks and 3∼4 weeks.

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  Fig. 3. Changes in egg granuloma diameter (μm) in the liver of the S. mansoni-infected non-treated control group versus infected and studied experimental mice groups on 24 hour, 48 hour, 1 week, 2 weeks and 3∼4 weeks post treatment by CD34+ cells.

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  Fig. 4. Photomicrographs of (H&E)-stained liver tissue sections from mice infected with S. mansoni. Panels a, b and c: Untreated control group of CD34+ cells. Panels a and b showing characteristic fibrous granulomas with trapped central eggs and sinusoidal dilation (original magnification 100× and 200× respectively). Panel c showing a large granuloma causing distortion of the hepatic lobule and accumulation of inflammatory cells around the disrupted central vein (original magnification 400×). Panel d showing a section of the liver tissue from mice infected with S. mansoni followed by treatment of CD34+ cells with a reduced egg granuloma diameter and the relief of ameliorated hepatocytes after three to four weeks of treatment (power of magnification 400×).

Reference

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