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Comparative Study
. 2020 Jun 2;15(6):e0225485.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225485. eCollection 2020.

A comparative study of the capacity of mesenchymal stromal cell lines to form spheroids

Affiliations
Comparative Study

A comparative study of the capacity of mesenchymal stromal cell lines to form spheroids

Margaux Deynoux et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)-spheroid models favor maintenance of stemness, ex vivo expansion and transplantation efficacy. Spheroids may also be considered as useful surrogate models of the hematopoietic niche. However, accessibility to primary cells, from bone marrow (BM) or adipose tissues, may limit their experimental use and the lack of consistency in methods to form spheroids may affect data interpretation. In this study, we aimed to create a simple model by examining the ability of cell lines, from human (HS-27a and HS-5) and murine (MS-5) BM origins, to form spheroids, compared to primary human MSCs (hMSCs). Our protocol efficiently allowed the spheroid formation from all cell types within 24 hours. Whilst hMSC-spheroids began to shrink after 24 hours, the size of spheroids from cell lines remained constant during three weeks. The difference was partially explained by the balance between proliferation and cell death, which could be triggered by hypoxia and induced oxidative stress. Our results demonstrate that, like hMSCs, MSC cell lines make reproductible spheroids that are easily handled. Thus, this model could help in understanding mechanisms involved in MSC functions and may provide a simple model by which to study cell interactions in the BM niche.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Spheroids formation from primary hMSCs.
(A) Schematic representation of experimental plan. (B) 30,000 primary hMSCs per well were seeded into U-bottomed 96-well in medium containing 0.25%, 0.5% or 1% of methylcellulose (MethocultTM H4100 or SF H4236). Microscopy analysis was performed after 24 h (scale bars = 500 μm).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Follow up of the spheroids from various MSCs.
(A) Microscopy analysis of primary hMSC-, HS-27a-, HS-5- and MS-5-spheroids over 21 days in culture (scale bars = 100 μm). (B) Perimeter was measured with an arbitrary unit; each experiment is the mean of at least 10 spheroids from n = 3 experiments. Data are shown as mean ± SD; * compared to day 1; * p ≤ 0.01. (C) Number of living cells per spheroid over 21 days in culture (primary hMCSs and MS-5 n = 3; HS-27a and HS-5 n = 4). Data are shown as mean ± SD; *, **, *** compared to day 0; * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; *** p ≤ 0.001.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation of MSC-spheroids.
(A) Spheroids from primary hMSCs are round with a smooth surface and show progressive shrinking. HS-27a- and HS-5-spheroids are more irregular and granular. (B) Higher magnification show that cells are cohesive at the surface of primary hMSC-spheroids and more chaotic with distinguishable cells of different shapes for human cell lines. ECM deposition (arrow heads) is visible on all spheroids. Scale bars = 100 μm (A) and 20 μm (B).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Determination of proliferation and apoptosis of MSC-spheroids.
(A, B and D) Cell cycle analysis of spheroids over 21 days in culture. (A) Representative gating strategy from primary hMSCs at day 0, (B) sub-G1 apoptosis quantification (primary hMSCs n = 6; HS-27a and HS-5 n = 3) and (D) cell cycle quantification (primary hMSCs n = 6; HS-27a and HS-5 n = 5; * for G0; ǂ for G1; # for S/G2/M) (data are mean ± SD; *, ǂ, # compared to day 0; *, ǂ p ≤ 0.05; **, ǂǂ, ## p ≤ 0.01). (C and E) Immunohistochemistry of (C) caspase-3 and (E) Ki-67 at days 1, 3 and 7 for primary hMSC-, HS-27a- and HS-5-spheroids (scale bars = 50 μm (C) and 100 μm (E)). Arrow heads indicate Ki-67-positive cells.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Hypoxia detection of primary hMSC- and HS-27a-spheroids over 7 days in culture.
(A) Immunohistochemistry of CA-IX. (B) Immunohistochemistry and mRNA of HIF-1α. (C) Immunohistochemistry and mRNA expression of VEGF-A. (primary hMSCs n = 5; HS-27a n = 3; * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; scale bars = 100 μm).
Fig 6
Fig 6. Oxidative stress detection in primary hMSC- and HS-27a-spheroids.
(A) Immunohistochemistry of HO-1 (scale bars = 100 μm). (B) Expression of antioxidant genes (n = 3; data are mean; * compared to 2D control (CTL); * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01).
Fig 7
Fig 7. Dedifferentiation detection of hMSC- and HS-27a-spheroids over 7 days in culture.
(A and B) Gene expression of OCT4, NANOG and SOX2 for (A) primary hMSC- and (B) HS-27a-spheroids (primary hMSCs n = 5; HS-27a n = 3; * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01).

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