1. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAD-MSCs) were able to uptake the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin and steadily release it over time. 2. hAD-MSCs were resistant to paclitaxel chemotherapy, while it strongly inhibited the proliferation of three lung cancer cell lines. 3. When hAD-MSCs were primed with paclitaxel chemotherapy, they continuously released paclitaxel into the media over a period of 7 days. The resulting conditioned media potently inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells.

1. 0
40
80
120
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
CellProliferation(%)
A549
HCC827
Non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts
for the most cancer deaths worldwide, along
with a 5-year survival of only 5% to 15%.
Chemotherapy remains an important modality
for treatment of this tumour. However, response
rates to chemotherapy are only approximately
30%, making its treatment a challenge. The
major limitations include short drug half-lives,
insufficient delivery, and suboptimal specificity
for malignant tissue.
There has been considerable interest in the use
of stem cells as trophic vehicles for delivery of
drugs, proteins, and other therapeutic agents
specifically to tumours due to their lack of
immune rejection and inherent tumour-homing
capabilities.
We hypothesized human adipose-derived
mesenchymal stem cells (hAD-MSCs) primed in
vitro with anti-cancer drugs could release drugs
and inhibit tumour growth, thereby serving as
vehicles for delivering effective and targeted
therapy to tumours.
Introduction
Experimental Model
Materials and Methods
hAD-MSCs were isolated from peri-umbilical
adipose tissue and stably transfected with
green fluorescent protein (GFP); three human
non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines (A549,
HCC827 and H520) were cultured .
Doxorubicin internalisation was analysed by
fluorescence microscopy.
Cell proliferation was detected by Alarma blue
assay. Cell migration was assessed by Boyden
chamber assay.
Paclitaxel concentration was determined by
UHD accurate-mass Q-TOF LC/MS.
Results
24 hours 48 hours 72 hours
Paclitaxel produced a strong anti-proliferative effect on three lung carcinoma cells (A549, HCC827 and
H520) in a dose- and time- dependent manner whereas hAD-MSCs were highly resistant.
Drug Intake
Drug Release
hAD-MSC
Tumour cell
Chemotherapeutic
drugs
Paclitaxel (ng/ml)Paclitaxel (ng/ml)Paclitaxel (ng/ml)
After 1 hour priming, the internalisation of doxorubicin by hAD-MSCs was appreciable. The staining was
intense and enriched in cytoplasm at the end of priming (24 hours). After 24 hours, doxorubicin
distribution in cytoplasm decreased, suggesting a possible excretion. Scale bar: 100 μm.
1School of Healthcare Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University
2School of Science & The Environment, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University
3School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine and Human Sciences, University of Manchester
Wen-Hui Fang1, David Smith2, Shant Kumar1, 3, Glenn Ferris1, Garry McDowell1, Mark Slevin1
Conclusion and Future Work
hAD-MSCs primed in vitro with chemotherapeu-
tic drugs could release drugs and inhibit lung
cancer cell growth, and the tropism of hAD-
MSCs to human lung carcinomas might be
exploited to therapeutic advantage as vehicles
for delivering targeted therapy to tumours.
Future work would focus on mechanisms of
chemotherapeutic drug intake and release by
hAD-MSCs, the enhanced and more specific
tumour-homing, and the utilization of
therapeutic modified hAD-MSCs in the
treatment of cancer.
hAD-MSCs were exposed to 100 μg/ml paclitaxel for 24 hours. Paclitaxel primed hAD-MSCs were further
cultured and conditioned media were collected and replaced every day. The concentrations of paclitaxel
in conditioned media were measured by LC-MS/MS and conditioned media were tested for anti-
proliferative activity on A549 and HCC827 cells.
Wild type hAD-MSCs
Day 2 Day 3 Day 7 Day 21
DAPI
DOX
Merge
GFP-hAD-MSCs
Untreated 1 hour 2 hours
DAPI
DOX
4 hours 8 hours 12 hours 24 hours
Untreated 1 hour 2 hours 4 hours 8 hours 12 hours 24 hours
This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of National Education, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0133. Many thanks to Dr Valentina Ceserani, Dr Andrew Ryan and Dr John Brognard for kindly providing cell lines.
Lund TC et al. Nat Rev Clin Oncol, 2015;12:163-74; Pessina A et al. J Control Release, 2014;192:262-70; Keung EZ et al. Stem Cells, 2013;31:227-35.
Paclitaxel-primed hAD-MSCs steadily released
paclitaxel into media over 7 days.
Drug release (Day)
Doxorubicin (DOX) 50 μM
Doxorubicin (DOX) 50 μM
GFP
Merge
The conditioned media from paclitaxel primed
hAD-MSCs produced a potent growth inhibition
on lung cancer cells.
Drug release (Day)
Chemotherapeutic Drug Primed Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induce
Anti-cancer Effects on Human Lung Cancer Cells
Chemotherapeutic Drug Primed Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induce
Anti-cancer Effects on Human Lung Cancer Cells
hAD-MSC A549 HCC827
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CellProliferation(%)
H520
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12.5
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CellProliferation(%)
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CellProliferation(%)
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CellProliferation(%)
A549
HCC827
Negative control
RPMI+10%FBS A549-10%RPMI
Positive controlConditioned media of lung cancer cells
Basal IMDM 5%IMDM+EndoPMDMEM+10%FBS HCC827-10%DMEMH520-10%RPMI
Media control
Acknowledgement and Key References
0
10
20
30
40
Basal IMDM
NumberofMigrationCells×103
RPMI
+10%FBS
DMEM
+10%FBS
A549
10%RPMI
H520
10%RPMI
HCC827
10%DMEM
5%IMDM
+EndoPM
**
**
**
0
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Paclitaxel(ng/ml)
Conditioned medium from human lung carcinomas
promoted hAD-MSCs migration. Scale bar: 100 μm.
4. The oncotropism of hAD-MSCs
3. Paclitaxel-primed hAD-MSCs sustainedly released paclitaxel
2. hAD-MSCs ware resistant to paclitaxel
1. The uptake and release of doxorubicin by hAD-MSCs