Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation restores hematopoiesis in acute radiation disease

Objective: Nuclear technology has been widely used in military and civilian fields, and radiotherapy is an effective and common form of treatment for cancer. However, acute radiation disease caused by high doses of radiation is a serious complication. The aim of this study was to investigate the chance of mitigating radiation-triggered hematopoiesis failure using human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (HUCMSC) transplantation. Methods: Umbilical cords were obtained from three full-term female neonatus through cesarean section at Xinqiao Hospital. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were cultivated as depicted before. Briefly, monocytes were collected from bone marrow blood by means of density separation columns. An acute radiation disease mouse model was established to compare the restoration effect of HUCMSCs and BMSCs transplanted via the tail vein. The hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) mouse model was obtained through bone marrow cell transplantation (BMCT) from C57BL/6 mice (H-2b, donor) to female CB6F1 mice (H-2bxd, recipient) after irradiation. The mice were divided into five groups, including control (saline), irradiated (radiation), bone marrow (HSCT, transplanted 1x10(6) BM cells), HUCMSC (transplanted a mixture of 1x10(6) HUCMSCs and 1x10(6) BM cells), and BMSC group (transplanted a mixture of 1x10(6) BMSCs and 1x10(6) BM cells). The blood condition results were used to test the radiation-induced inflammatory reaction, and bone marrow pathological staining (H&E) was used to determine the radiation-induced bone marrow hematopoiesis failure. Results: After radiation, HUCMSC transplantation significantly improved the survival rate. By analyzing the blood condition test, colony formation, and bone marrow pathology, it was found that the HUCMSC group demonstrated significant functional improvements in terms of the recovery from hematopoiesis failure and reduction of inflammatory reaction. Conclusions: HUCMSCs have more advantages over BMSCs in restoring and promoting the recovery of radiation-induced hematopoietic damage, thus having a new therapeutic potential for patients with acute radiation disease.