Proteomic analysis of the secretome of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells primed by pro-inflammatory cytokines

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent an impressive opportunity in term of regenerative medicine and immunosuppressive therapy. Although it is clear that upon transplantation MSC exert most of their therapeutic effects through the secretion of bioactive molecules, the effects of a pro-inflammatory recipient environment on MSC secretome have not been characterized. In this study, we used a label free mass spectrometry based quantitative proteomic approach to analyze how pro-inflammatory cytokines modulate the composition of the human MSC secretome. We found that pro-inflammatory cytokines have a strong impact on the secretome of human bone marrow-derived MSC and that the large majority of cytokine-induced proteins are involved in inflammation and/or angiogenesis. Comparative analyses with results recently obtained on mouse MSC secretome stimulated under the same conditions reveals both analogies and differences in the effect of pro-inflammatory cytokines on MSC secretome in the two organisms. In particular, functional analyses confirmed that tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP1) is a key effector molecule responsible for the anti-angiogenic properties of both human and mouse MSC within an inflammatory microenvironment. Mass spectrometry data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD005746 Significance The secretion of a broad range of bioactive molecules is believed to be the main mechanism by which MSC exert specific therapeutic effects. MSC are very versatile and respond to specific environments by producing and releasing a variety of effector molecules. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study aimed at describing the secretome of human MSC primed using a mixture of cytokines, to mimic pro-inflammatory conditions encountered in vivo, by a quantitative high-resolution mass spectrometry based approach. The main output of the study concerns the identification of a list of specific proteins involved in inflammation and angiogenesis which are overrepresented in stimulated MSC secretome. The data complement a previous study on the secretome of mouse MSC stimulated under the same conditions. Comparative analyses reveal analogies and differences in the biological processes affected by overrepresented proteins in the two organisms. In particular, the key role of TIMP-1 for the anti-angiogenic properties of stimulated MSC secretome already observed in mouse is confirmed in human. Overall, these studies represent key steps necessary to characterize the different biology of MSC in the two organisms and design successful pre-clinical experiments as well as clinical trials