Donor's age dependent proliferation decrease of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells is linked to diminished clonogenicity.

While mesenchymal stem cells represent an interesting cell source for regenerative medicine, several points have to be investigated to improve their use in clinical, and in particular in the elderly population. This work studied the proliferation capacity of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from human bone marrow in function of donor's age. Doubling time after in vitro culture, clonogenicity and phenotype were analyzed in 17 samples ranging from 3 to 85 years old (mean 47 ± 27). Results showed an increase in the doubling time for cell coming from old donor compared to cells coming from young ones. This was accompanied by a decrease in clonogenicity while no changes were observe in cell phenotype. In conclusion, this study showed an effect of donor's age on the proliferation capacity of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from bone marrow that was correlated to a decrease in clonogenicity. The comprehension of molecular mechanism involved in this process could help to improve the clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells.