A Decrease in the Proliferative Activity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells during Long-Term Cultivation is Not Connected with Change in Their Migration Properties

Abstract

In the context of rehabilitation therapy, the proliferation and migration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are functional properties of which the relationship remains unstudied. The aim of the present work consisted in parallel determination of proliferative and migration capacity of endometrial, adipose, and bonemarrow human MSCs (hMSCs) during long-term cultivation. The migration capacity of hMSCs was determined in comparison with those in epithelial cells of the established НСТ116, MCF7, and A-549 human lines. hMSCs obtained from different tissues demonstrate a comparable division rate on early passages, which progressively slows down by the tenth passage, which corresponds to a decrease in the expression of Ki67 proliferation marker and D1 cyclin. The mobility of MSCs during the determination of the cell migration through 8-μm filters and a “scratch regeneration” method does not change by the tenth passage. A high level of N-cadherin, vimentin production, and absence of E-cadherin, which level out in epithelial cells of the HCT116, MCF7, and A-549 lines is inverted as compared with those in MSCs, corresponding to the active mobility of MSCs of different tissue origin. Our results demonstrate that a decrease of the proliferative activity of MSCs of different tissue specificity during passaging is not associated with changes in their ability to migrate. It is likely that the mechanisms of division and cell-mobility regulation are genetically and functionally not related to each other and change autonomously during continuous cultivation.