Mesenchymal stem cells are resistant to carbon ion radiotherapy

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) participate in regeneration of tissues damaged by ionizing radiation. However, radiation can damage MSCs themselves.Here we show that cellular morphology, adhesion and migration abilities were not measurably altered by photon or carbon ion irradiation. The potential for differentiation was unaffected by either form of radiation, and established MSC surface markers were found to be stably expressed irrespective of radiation treatment. MSCs were able to efficiently repair DNA double strand breaks induced by both high-dose photon and carbon ion radiation. We have shown for the first time that MSCs are relatively resistant to therapeutic carbon ion radiotherapy. Additionally, this form of radiation did not markedly alter the defining stem cell properties or the expression of established surface markers in MSCs.

The current understanding of mesenchymal stem cells as potential attenuators of chemotherapy‐induced toxicity

“…While it has been reported that MSCs are highly resistant to apoptosis after exposure to various forms of DNA‐damaging agents, treatment with the alkylating agent busulfan induced apoptosis in MSCs; a comparison between bone marrow‐derived MSCs (bmMSCs) and adipose tissue‐derived MSCs (adMSCs) demonstrated significantly higher apoptosis levels in bmMSCs . The regulation of apoptosis in MSCs depends on the expression of anti‐apoptotic proteins in these cells, and the evasion of apoptosis observed in MSCs may depend on paracrine signaling within the stem cells' microenvironment rather than DNA damage repair of individual cells . This is in line with the reported in vivo resistance of MSCs to alkylating antineoplastic drugs.…”

Mesenchymal stem cells – A new hope for radiotherapy-induced tissue damage?

“…Therefore, additional functional features are used to characterize MSCs, among them the cells' fibroblast-like spindle shape, the ability to adhere to plastic surfaces and their differentiation potential along the ostogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages [2,7]. Several publications have demonstrated a relative radioresistance for MSCs (reviewed in [8]); and the defining stem cell properties have been shown to remain unaffected even by high doses of ionizing radiation [9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Radiation‐induced sensitivity of tissue‐resident mesenchymal stem cells in the head and neck region

“…5,6 Thus, knowledge regarding the effect of IR on tissue-resident MSC is crucial and well-investigated for bmMSC, adipose tissue MSC (adMSC) and umbilical cord MSC (ucMSC). [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] As a therapeutic approach, study groups applied MSC for tissue regeneration in patients with diabetic ulcer and necrotic osteolysis. 41,42 In contrast, little is known about IR-sensitivity of MSC derived from mucosa of the head and neck region or the parotid gland.…”