Abstract
Background:
Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have the potential to treat various human disorders currently labeled as incurable and/or terminal illness. However, the fear that the patients' immune system would recognize them as non self and lead to an immune rejection has hampered their use. The main cause for immune rejection is usually the incompatibility of both donor and recipient's major histocompatibility complex (MHC).
Methods:
We describe a hESC line developed through a patented technology that does not lead to immune reaction upon transplantation. We have transplanted these cells in ＞1,400 patients with chronic/terminal conditions and did not observe any immune reaction. No immunosuppressant were administered to these patients. We analyzed the expression levels of MHC-I and MHC-II on the surface of these hESCs using microarray technology. The gene targets for miRNA were analyzed using Gene ontology and DAVID database and pathways for these genes were determined using Reactome and Panther databases.
Results:
Our results showed that the levels of expression of MHC-I and MHC-II on hESCs is almost negligible and thus the hESCs are less susceptible to an immune rejection.
Conclusions:
The hESCs cultured at our facility expresses low levels of MHC-I and do not produce an immune reaction. These can be administered universally and need no cross matching before transplantation.
Keywords:
DAVID; Human embryonic stem cells; Major histocompatibility complex; Microarray technology; Reactome; miRNA.