Directed therapeutic angiogenesis by mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord matrix in preclinical model of ischemic limb disease

Ischemic limb disease (ILD) is the end stage of peripheral vascular disease, progresses to leg amputation with associated morbidity and morbidity. Therapeutic application of stem cell based angiogenesis may constitute a potential alternative treatment strategy for such patients. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from various tissues have shown to elicit angiogenic activity that could potentially benefit patients with ILD and related indications. Recently, MSC derived from umbilical cord matrix (UCMSCs) has been proven to be a valuable alternate source of MSCs with good therapeutic potential. In this study, besides comparing UCMSCs and bone marrow derived MSCs (BMMSCs) for their morphology, surface marker expression, proliferative and differentiation potentials, we looked for its ability for angiogenesis. These cells secreted high amounts of HGF and upon induction with TNFα also secreted higher levels of VEGF as compared to the BMMSCs, which are the key factors in angiogenesis. Transplantation of these VEGF secreting UCMSCs in a preclinical model of ILD showed significant improvement as compared to the MSCs from other sources. In this study, we observed that the UCMSCs could be a new therapeutic cell type for clinical applications in the area of peripheral vascular diseases. Moving forward, it is also worth exploring the application of these MSCs in a clinical setting in the autologous and allogeneic settings.