Capone Angelita, Merlo Barbara, Begni Fabiana, Iacono Eleonora
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064 Bologna, Italy.
IRET Foundation, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064 Bologna, Italy.
Vet Sci. 2025 Jul 19;12(7):681. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12070681.
Beyond its immunological role, colostrum has emerged as a promising, non-invasive source of bioactive factors, including mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). This study represents the first attempt to isolate and characterize MSCs from equine colostrum (C-MSCs) to assess their potential use in veterinary regenerative medicine. Colostrum ( = 6) was collected from mares immediately after their delivery and centrifuged, and the recovered cells were cultured under standard conditions. The C-MSCs displayed plastic adherence and a heterogeneous morphology, including spindle-shaped and epithelial-like cells. The population doubling time (PDT) values varied among the samples, and four out of six showed rapid proliferation (<2 days). Colony-forming unit (CFU) assays confirmed their clonogenic potential, though significant inter-sample variability was observed ( < 0.05). Spheroid formation assays revealed differences in cell-cell adhesion: four out of six samples formed stable spheroids within four days. A migration assay showed significant variability ( < 0.05): one out of six achieved complete wound closure within 72 h, whereas five out of six reached ~30% at 96 h. All samples were positive for adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic differentiation as shown via staining. RT-PCR confirmed MSC marker expression, while hematopoietic markers were absent. MHC-I expression was weak in five out of six samples, whereas MHC-II was consistently negative. These findings support equine colostrum as a viable MSC source, though its variability requires further validation with larger samples. Additional research is needed to investigate C-MSCs' immunomodulatory properties and therapeutic potential.
除了其免疫作用外，初乳已成为一种有前景的、非侵入性的生物活性因子来源，包括间充质干/基质细胞（MSC）。本研究首次尝试从马初乳中分离并鉴定MSC（C-MSC），以评估其在兽医再生医学中的潜在用途。在母马分娩后立即收集初乳（n = 6）并进行离心，将回收的细胞在标准条件下培养。C-MSC表现出贴壁生长和异质性形态，包括纺锤形和上皮样细胞。样本之间的群体倍增时间（PDT）值各不相同，六分之四显示出快速增殖（<2天）。集落形成单位（CFU）分析证实了它们的克隆形成潜力，尽管样本间存在显著差异（P<0.05）。球体形成分析揭示了细胞间粘附的差异：六分之四的样本在四天内形成了稳定的球体。迁移分析显示出显著差异（P<0.05）：六分之一在72小时内实现了完全伤口闭合，而六分之五在96小时时达到约30%。如染色所示，所有样本的成脂、成软骨和成骨分化均呈阳性。RT-PCR证实了MSC标志物的表达，而造血标志物不存在。六分之五的样本中MHC-I表达较弱，而MHC-II始终为阴性。这些发现支持马初乳作为一种可行的MSC来源，尽管其变异性需要用更大的样本进一步验证。需要进一步研究来调查C-MSC的免疫调节特性和治疗潜力。
