Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Attenuate Lung Injury in a Murine Model of Neonatal Chronic Lung Disease

Abstract

Rationale: Neonatal chronic lung disease, known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), remains a serious complication of prematurity despite advances in the treatment of extremely low birth weight infants.Objectives: Given the reported protective actions of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs; mesenchymal stem cells) in models of lung and cardiovascular injury, we tested their therapeutic potential in a murine model of BPD.Methods: Neonatal mice exposed to hyperoxia (75% O2) were injected intravenously on Day 4 with either BMSCs or BMSC-conditioned media (CM) and assessed on Day 14 for lung morphometry, vascular changes associated with pulmonary hypertension, and lung cytokine profile.Measurements and Main Results: Injection of BMSCs but not pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) reduced alveolar loss and lung inflammation, and prevented pulmonary hypertension. Although more donor BMSCs engrafted in hyperoxic lungs compared with normoxic controls, the overall low numbers suggest protective mechanisms ot...