STEM CELLS®

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes Tissue Regeneration in a Glaucoma Model through Laser-induced Paracrine Factor Secretion and Progenitor Cell Recruitment Renaud Manuguerra-Gagné,1,2,5 Patrick R. Boulos,2,3 Ahmed Ammar,1,2, François A. Leblond,4 Gorazd Krosl,1 Vincent Pichette,4,5,6 Mark R. Lesk2,3,5 and Denis-Claude Roy1,5 Division of 1Hematology-Oncology and 4Nephrology, Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Center, Montreal, Canada; 2 Department of Vision Health Research, Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Canada; 3Department of Ophthalmology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Department of 5Medicine and 6Pharmacology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada Key words. Tissue regeneration x bone marrow mononuclear cells x mesenchymal stem cells x glaucoma x intraocular pressure

ABSTRACT Among bone marrow cells, hematopoietic and mesenchymal components can contribute to repair damaged organs. Such cells are usually used in acute diseases but few options are available for the treatment of chronic disorders. In the present study, we have used a laser-induced model of open angle glaucoma (OAG) to evaluate the potential of bone marrow cell populations and the mechanisms involved in tissue repair. In addition, we investigated laser-induced tissue remodeling as a method of targeting effector cells into damaged tissues. We demonstrate that among bone marrow cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) induce trabecular meshwork (TM) regeneration. MSC injection into the ocular anterior chamber lead to far more efficient decrease in intraocular pressure (IOP) (P