Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal Cells from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients Have Diminished Stem Cell Capacity

Human bone marrow stromal cells (BM-SCs) possess the potential to differentiate, self-renew, and produce diverse trophic/growth factors and are an excellent cell therapy tool for degenerative diseases. However, they exhibit different therapeutic efficacies, depending on the health status and age of the cell donor. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive motor neuron death in the central nervous system. In this study, we isolated BM-SCs from 11 ALS patients and characterized their potential secretory capacity of neurotrophic factors. We identified significant reductions in the expression of Oct-4 and Nanog, and in the trophic factors ANG, FGF-2, HGF, IGF-1, PIGF, SDF-1 alpha, TGF-beta, and VEGF, but not in BDNF or ECGF. Migration of ALS-SCs was reduced, although the cells expressed the same markers for human mesenchymal phenotypes. These data suggest that ALS-SCs have diminished capacity as trophic mediators and may have reduced beneficial effects in cell therapy.