人尿源性干细胞的生物学特性及其血管再生潜能研究

Ischemic diseases feature high morbidity and mortality, and severely affect the health of patients. Currently, there is no effective treatment for patients suffering from end-stage diffuse lesion of small vessels. Transplantation of autologous stem cells to promote the angiogenesis of ischemic tissues may provide a new treatment strategy for such diseases. As one of recently discovered stem cells, urine-derived stem cells (USCs) have several advantages such as abundance of supply, non-invasive sampling, easy isolation and high proliferative ability, and therefore they may provide an ideal source for autologous stem cell transplantation. However, so far, our understanding of the biological features of USCs is still limited. It is unclear whether their biological functions and angiogenic potential will alter under pathological conditions. This project aims to isolate USCs from patients with acute injury and chronic disease as well as healthy donors, to compare their cellular phenotypes and biological features, and to evaluate their tolerance in the ischemic micro-environment. Efficient strategies for USCs transplantation will also be explored. The ability of USCs to treat lower limb ischemia will be assessed, and possible mechanism will be explored. With the strong research background and previous work in this field, the applicant is expected to achieve breakthroughs, which will provide a reliable new source of autologous stem cells and an efficient cell graft method for ischemic diseases.

缺血性疾病致死致残率高，严重危害健康，目前对处于终末小血管弥漫性病变阶段的患者尚无理想的治疗办法。利用患者自体干细胞促进血管再生可能为这类疾病提供新的治疗方案。尿源性干细胞（Urine-derived stem cells，USCs）是近期发现的新型干细胞，具有来源不受限制、取材无创、分离方便、增殖能力强等优点，是自体干细胞较为理想的来源。然而，目前对其生物学特性的了解仍不够深入，对损伤/病理条件下USCs的生物学功能是否发生改变、是否具有血管再生潜能仍不清楚。本项目拟系统比较急性损伤、慢性系统性疾病以及正常供体USCs的生物学特性，评价其耐受缺血组织微环境的能力，探索简便高效的细胞移植方式，观察不同供体来源USCs治疗下肢缺血的效果，并探讨其血管再生机制。利用较好的研究背景和工作基础，我们有望在该领域取得创新性突破，为缺血性疾病患者提供新型、可靠的自体干细胞来源以及高效的细胞移植方式。

缺血性疾病致死致残率高，严重危害健康，目前对处于终末小血管弥漫性病变阶段的患者尚无理想的治疗办法。利用患者自体干细胞促进血管再生可能为这类疾病提供新的治疗方案。尿源性干细胞（Urine-derived stem cells，USCs）是近期发现的新型干细胞，具有来源不受限制、取材无创、分离方便、增殖能力强等优点，是自体干细胞较为理想的来源。然而，目前对其生物学特性的了解仍不够深入，对损伤/病理条件下USCs的生物学功能是否发生改变、是否具有血管再生潜能仍不清楚。本项目拟系统比较急性损伤、慢性系统性疾病以及正常供体USCs的生物学特性，评价其耐受缺血组织微环境的能力，探索简便高效的细胞移植方式，观察不同供体来源USCs治疗下肢缺血的效果，并探讨其血管再生机制。利用较好的研究背景和工作基础，我们有望在该领域取得创新性突破，为缺血性疾病患者提供新型、可靠的自体干细胞来源以及高效的细胞移植方式。