Canine umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells naturally express mRNAs of some antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are naturally produced by all living organisms at a constitutive rate. They represent the first line of active defence systems against invading microorganisms, helping in innate immunity. Besides their therapeutic applications, great attention has also been given to the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) due to their antimicrobial activities. The study aimed to observe the mRNA expression profile of few antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in canine MSCs during standard in vitro culture. MSCs were isolated from canine umbilical cord tissue, propagated and characterized by morphology, surface markers and tri-lineage differentiation capability. The mRNA expression of eleven commonly known antimicrobial peptides was checked by Reverse Transcriptase PCR. It has been found for the first time that canine MSCs naturally express the mRNAs of AMPs like C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), Elafin (PI3), Hepcidin (HAMP), Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) and Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI). However, their expressions at protein level and, relation with antimicrobial effect of canine MSCs need to be explored.