Integrated transcriptome-proteome analyses of human stem cells reveal source-dependent differences in their regenerative signature

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are gaining increasing prominence as an effective regenerative cellular therapy. However, ensuring consistent and reliable effects across clinical populations has proved to be challenging. In part, this can be attributed to heterogeneity in the intrinsic molecular and regenerative signature of MSCs, which is dependent on their source of origin. The present work uses integrated omics-based profiling, at different functional levels, to compare the anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and angiogenic properties between MSCs from neonatal (umbilical cord MSC [UC-MSC]) and adult (adipose tissue MSC [AD-MSC], and bone marrow MSC [BM-MSC]) sources. Using multi-parametric analyses, we identified that UC-MSCs promote a more robust host innate immune response; in contrast, adult-MSCs appear to facilitate remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) with stronger activation of angiogenic cascades. These data should help facilitate the standardization of source-specific MSCs, such that their regenerative signatures can be confidently used to target specific disease processes.