The proximate obstacle to realizing the enormous potential benefits of adult stem cell-based regenerative therapeutics is to safely and efficiently deliver the cells where they are needed/required. Though direct injection of adult stem cells into site(s) of disease/injury is feasible for certain organs with defined anatomic boundaries (e.g., heart), direct insertion is impractical for systemic conditions such as generalized bone diseases (e.g., Osteogenesis Imperfecta). Tissue-specific migration of blood-borne cells is initiated by adhesive interactions at target tissue endothelium mediated by molecules on circulating cells that are specialized to resist the shear forces of blood flow, the """"""""homing receptors"""""""". Recruitment of cells from the vascular compartment to bone occurs within marrow, mediated by homing receptors bearing sialofucosylated lactosaminoglycans that engage E-selectin, a Cadependent lectin that is constitutively expressed on marrow sinusoidal vessels. In the prior funding period, we analyzed the expression of homing receptors on subsets of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) and on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). We found that whereas human HSPCs express multiple homing receptors, including several glycoproteins that function as E-selectin ligands, BMSCs express no E-selectin ligands and only two characterized homing receptors, VLA-4 and CD44. Importantly, however, we observed that CD44 on BMSCs possesses a(2,3)-sialyllactosamine carbohydrate modifications that can serve as an acceptor for exogenous fucosylation. Using a novel alpha-(1,3) fucosyltransferase enzyme and attendant buffer conditions specifically formulated by us for treating BMSCs without affecting cell viability or multipotency, we converted the native CD44 glycoform into HCELL, a highly potent E-selectin ligand. In flow-based assays, HCELL* BMSCs displayed profound adhesive interactions on E-selectin, and, as observed by real-time intravital microscopy in immunocompromised mouse hosts, intravenously infused HCELL* BMSCs homed robustly to bone, with infiltrates evident within hours of infusion. Thus, stereoselective glycan engineering of a single membrane glycoprotein can direct navigation of BMSCs to a predetermined anatomic compartment. In this renewal application, we will extend these exciting findings to further optimize adhesive interactions and transmigration of human BMSCs on endothelium expressing E-selectin. We will also examine the biological effects of improved trafficking of BMSCs to marrow, and will analyze the discrete glycan structures created by enforced fucosylation. We anticipate that results of these studies will unveil a readily translatable roadmap for programming osteotropism of human BMSCs, thereby facilitating clinical use of these cells for treatment of generalized skeletal diseases and for enhancing engraftment following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL073714-08
Application #
7886592
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HEME-B (03))
Program Officer
Thomas, John
Project Start
2003-07-11
Project End
2011-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$436,750
Indirect Cost
Name
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
030811269
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Sackstein, Robert (2016) Fulfilling Koch's postulates in glycoscience: HCELL, GPS and translational glycobiology. Glycobiology 26:560-70
Merzaban, Jasmeen S; Imitola, Jaime; Starossom, Sarah C et al. (2015) Cell surface glycan engineering of neural stem cells augments neurotropism and improves recovery in a murine model of multiple sclerosis. Glycobiology 25:1392-409
Abdi, Reza; Moore, Robert; Sakai, Shinobu et al. (2015) HCELL Expression on Murine MSC Licenses Pancreatotropism and Confers Durable Reversal of Autoimmune Diabetes in NOD Mice. Stem Cells 33:1523-31
Sackstein, Robert; Fuhlbrigge, Robert (2015) Western blot analysis of adhesive interactions under fluid shear conditions: the blot rolling assay. Methods Mol Biol 1312:399-410
Silvescu, Cristina I; Sackstein, Robert (2014) G-CSF induces membrane expression of a myeloperoxidase glycovariant that operates as an E-selectin ligand on human myeloid cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:10696-701
Peter, Yakov; Sen, Namita; Levantini, Elena et al. (2013) CD45/CD11b positive subsets of adult lung anchorage-independent cells harness epithelial stem cells in culture. J Tissue Eng Regen Med 7:572-83
Sackstein, Robert (2012) Engineering cellular trafficking via glycosyltransferase-programmed stereosubstitution. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1253:193-200
Sackstein, Robert (2012) Glycoengineering of HCELL, the human bone marrow homing receptor: sweetly programming cell migration. Ann Biomed Eng 40:766-76
Thankamony, Sai P; Sackstein, Robert (2011) Enforced hematopoietic cell E- and L-selectin ligand (HCELL) expression primes transendothelial migration of human mesenchymal stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:2258-63
Merzaban, Jasmeen S; Burdick, Monica M; Gadhoum, S Zeineb et al. (2011) Analysis of glycoprotein E-selectin ligands on human and mouse marrow cells enriched for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Blood 118:1774-83

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