Cell therapy in ob/ob obese mice using mesenchymal stem cells

• Grant number: 12/00773-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: João Bosco Pesquero
• Grantee: Lauro Thiago Turaça
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

A great promise for the future of cell therapy is the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The white adipose tissue (WAT) is an alternative source for obtaining these cells and allows a simpler collection and a greater availability of material in relation to the use of bone marrow. MSCs are able to differentiate in vitro and in vivo in cells of mesodermal lineage and have been used in preclinical models for the treatment of acute and chronic diseases. A promising target is the treatment of genetic diseases, but because of the ability of differentiation, division and migration of these cells, they can be used to compensate for the absence of certain molecules for long periods. In our study, we propose a heterologous cell therapy and cell therapy with autologous transfected MSCs. In order to perform this work, it will be used ob / ob mice that are obese and infertile by not producing a functional leptin. Leptin, in turn, acting on the ventromedial hypothalamus to inhibit the biosynthesis and secretion of neuropeptide Y, inhibits the appetite. Thus, the ability of MSCs to differentiate into adipocytes may serve as a source of leptin-producing cells, as the WAT is the main secretory source of this adipokine. This study design will allow us to evaluate in a practical way, through the weight of the animals, whether the therapy with MSCs are able to produce leptin and reverse the obesity and infertility of these animals. The functionality of this therapy may be the beginning of the establishment of a protocol for the isolation of MSCs and their use in future treatments of genetic disorders, metabolic disorders and infertility.