Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome
Abstract Background Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) show potential for treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), however, their homing to the lungs and survival time are insufficient. In this study, we evaluated whether pulsed focus ultrasound (pFUS) could promote t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Stem Cell Research & Therapy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-025-04545-6 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849766882013347840 |
|---|---|
| author | Bei-Ying Wang Xiao Zhang Ting-Tian Li Wei-Wei Qin Xiang Liu Kong-Miao Lu Li-Xin Sun Wei Han |
| author_facet | Bei-Ying Wang Xiao Zhang Ting-Tian Li Wei-Wei Qin Xiang Liu Kong-Miao Lu Li-Xin Sun Wei Han |
| author_sort | Bei-Ying Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) show potential for treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), however, their homing to the lungs and survival time are insufficient. In this study, we evaluated whether pulsed focus ultrasound (pFUS) could promote the homing and prolonged retention of hUC-MSCs in the lungs of ARDS mice and explored the mechanisms involved. Methods Mice were divided into four groups: the NC group, the LPS group, the MSCs group, and the pFUS + MSCs group. Except for the NC group, the other three groups were constructed as ARDS models and given PBS, MSCs and pFUS + MSCs interventions. hUC-MSCs were used to assess lung tissue injury by HE staining, inflammatory cell count in alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and expression of Tnf, Il1b and Il6 in the lung tissues; and apoptosis and proliferation in the lung tissues were assessed by TUNEL and immunofluorescence. Bioluminescence imaging was used to detect the homing rate and survival of hUC-MSCs in mouse lungs from 1 to 7 days. Cxcl5 and Igf1 was found to be differentially expressed and highly enriched by mRNA sequencing in MSC and sonicated groups and verified by PCR combined with ELISA. Results Compared with the LPS group, the lung inflammatory infiltrate and lung tissue damage in the MSCs group and pFUS + MSC group were alleviated, the number of inflammatory cells in the BALF and the expression of Tnf, Il1b and Il6 in the lung tissues were reduced, the expression of TUNEL-positive cells was reduced, and the expression of PCNA-positive cells was increased, and the decrease or increase was more significant in the pFUS + MSC group (P < 0.05). pFUS increased the number of hUC-MSCs homing in the lungs and prolonged lung survival to day 6 and significantly up-regulated lung tissue levels of SDF-1, ICAM-1, CXCL5 and IGF-1 compared to the MSCs group (P < 0.05). Conclusions pFUS preconditioning may improve lung homing and prolong survival of hUC-MSCs by upregulating the levels of homing-associated factors SDF-1, ICAM-1, CXCL5 and IGF-1, which in turn improves ARDS. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-45c47b964f514cceb69a217c4e67e02d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1757-6512 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Stem Cell Research & Therapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-45c47b964f514cceb69a217c4e67e02d2025-08-20T03:04:26ZengBMCStem Cell Research & Therapy1757-65122025-07-0116111210.1186/s13287-025-04545-6Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndromeBei-Ying Wang0Xiao Zhang1Ting-Tian Li2Wei-Wei Qin3Xiang Liu4Kong-Miao Lu5Li-Xin Sun6Wei Han7Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Nanjing Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal HospitalDepartment of Emergency and Critical Care, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesDepartment of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal HospitalDepartment of Emergency and Critical Care, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesDepartment of Emergency and Critical Care, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesDepartment of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal HospitalDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Nanjing Medical UniversityAbstract Background Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) show potential for treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), however, their homing to the lungs and survival time are insufficient. In this study, we evaluated whether pulsed focus ultrasound (pFUS) could promote the homing and prolonged retention of hUC-MSCs in the lungs of ARDS mice and explored the mechanisms involved. Methods Mice were divided into four groups: the NC group, the LPS group, the MSCs group, and the pFUS + MSCs group. Except for the NC group, the other three groups were constructed as ARDS models and given PBS, MSCs and pFUS + MSCs interventions. hUC-MSCs were used to assess lung tissue injury by HE staining, inflammatory cell count in alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and expression of Tnf, Il1b and Il6 in the lung tissues; and apoptosis and proliferation in the lung tissues were assessed by TUNEL and immunofluorescence. Bioluminescence imaging was used to detect the homing rate and survival of hUC-MSCs in mouse lungs from 1 to 7 days. Cxcl5 and Igf1 was found to be differentially expressed and highly enriched by mRNA sequencing in MSC and sonicated groups and verified by PCR combined with ELISA. Results Compared with the LPS group, the lung inflammatory infiltrate and lung tissue damage in the MSCs group and pFUS + MSC group were alleviated, the number of inflammatory cells in the BALF and the expression of Tnf, Il1b and Il6 in the lung tissues were reduced, the expression of TUNEL-positive cells was reduced, and the expression of PCNA-positive cells was increased, and the decrease or increase was more significant in the pFUS + MSC group (P < 0.05). pFUS increased the number of hUC-MSCs homing in the lungs and prolonged lung survival to day 6 and significantly up-regulated lung tissue levels of SDF-1, ICAM-1, CXCL5 and IGF-1 compared to the MSCs group (P < 0.05). Conclusions pFUS preconditioning may improve lung homing and prolong survival of hUC-MSCs by upregulating the levels of homing-associated factors SDF-1, ICAM-1, CXCL5 and IGF-1, which in turn improves ARDS.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-025-04545-6Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cellsUltrasoundAcute respiratory distress syndrome |
| spellingShingle | Bei-Ying Wang Xiao Zhang Ting-Tian Li Wei-Wei Qin Xiang Liu Kong-Miao Lu Li-Xin Sun Wei Han Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome Stem Cell Research & Therapy Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells Ultrasound Acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title | Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title_full | Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title_fullStr | Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title_short | Ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| title_sort | ultrasound assisted homing of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells promotes recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| topic | Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells Ultrasound Acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-025-04545-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT beiyingwang ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT xiaozhang ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT tingtianli ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT weiweiqin ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT xiangliu ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT kongmiaolu ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT lixinsun ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome AT weihan ultrasoundassistedhomingofhumanumbilicalcordmesenchymalstemcellspromotesrecoveryfromacuterespiratorydistresssyndrome |