The micronome of mesenchymal stromal cells is partially responsive to inflammation

Abstract

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) display a special immunological profile that allows their potential use as immunotherapeutic cells. Nowadays, foreskin (FSK) represents a valuable reservoir of MSCs with International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) compliant criteria and relevant functional properties. However, their mode of action is poorly understood and needs to be more elucidated to optimize their therapeutic use. Because microRNAs (miRNAs) act as key regulators in a wide variety of biological processes, we decided to establish the micronome of FSK-MSCs, the influence of inflammation and the predicted target pathways. Here, we provide the full list of unchanged and additional four differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-199b, -296-3p and -589-5p being downregulated whilst miR-146-3p being upregulated, in MSCs following their exposure to a cocktail of proinflammatory cytokines. MicroRNA target prediction in addition to Pathway enrichment analysis performed using miRNet, showed that miR-296-3p is linked to antigen processing and presentation pathway. Collectively, our data indicate that the micronome of FSK-MSCs is partially responsive to inflammation. Differentially expressed miRNAs are subsequently modulated by inflammation and seem to be involved in regulating the immunological fate of FSK-MSCs. These miRNAs deserve more attention in order to optimize MSC-based therapy and achieve the appropriate therapeutic effect.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs); foreskin; inflammation; micronome.