Autologous mesenchymal stromal cells of hemoblastosis patients efficiently support hematopoietic recovery after stem cell transplantation

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow possess immunoregulatory activity and are able to support hematopoiesis. Unfortunately, data concerning the biological properties of MSCs in various pathologies is poor and often discrepant. In this study, we demonstrated that MSCs derived from bone marrow of patients with hemoblastoses have fibroblast-like morphology and a typical phenotype. Moreover, the patients' MSCs possess well-defined hematopoietic-supporting activity coupled with decreased immunosuppressive potential. These properties prove the clinical application of co-transplantation of autologous hematopoietic stem cells and MSCs in oncohematology to achieve a rapid hematopoietic recovery. Therefore we investigated the safety and hematopoietic effects of MSCs in patients with hematological malignancies receiving peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. We revealed the decreasing of the period of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in the patients with hematological tumors after high-dose chemotherapy, when autologous PBSC were co-transplanted with ex vivo expanded autologous MSCs. Our results show that co-transplantation of autologous MSCs with PBSC is feasible and safe. The shortening of hematopoietic recovery time suggests that MSC may have a positive impact on hematopoiesis.