MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL THERAPY FACILITATES ORGAN PRESERVATION FOR LUNG TRANSPLANTATION

PACIENZA NATALIA; LEMUS GASTON; YANNARELLI GUSTAVO; ROBLEDO OSCAR; MARCOS MARTIN; SANTA CRUZ DIEGO; BERTOLOTTI ALEJANDRO

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXI Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica (SAIC); 2016

Lung transplantation is a lifesaving therapy for patients suffering from end-stage lung diseases. As only 15% of lungs from multi-organ donors are deemed usable for transplantation, the waiting list mortality can be as high as 30%. Today, the emphasis of lung preservation is tending to facilitate organ recovery and regeneration prior to implantation using different technologies. Here, we propose to increase organ procurement by using a mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) therapeutic strategy to better preserve lungs from non-heart-beating donors which are currently discarded. We developed an ex-vivo lung perfusion rat model that mimics the different stages through which donor organs must pass before implantation. The therapeutic schema was as follow: cardiac arrest, hot ischemia (2h at RT), cold ischemia (1.5h at 4°C),alveolar recruitment, and lung reperfusion with ventilation (Steen solution, 1h at RT). Human umbilical cord MSCs were infused via the pulmonary artery after 1h of hot ischemia (1x10 6 cells or PBS). Physiologic data (pressure-volume curves, lung compliance) were acquired right after cardiac arrest and during reperfusion. Pulmonary edema, redox profile and neutrophil infiltration were determined from lung biopsies (Basal, PBS and MSCs). MSCs therapy significantly reduced oxidative damage by controlling ROS production (Protein carbonyl: Basal,2.2±0.5; PBS, 12.6±1.5; MSCs, 8.8±0.7 µmol/mg, p