Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have great potential for cellular therapies as they can be directed to differentiate into certain\nlineages or to exert paracrine effects at sites of injury.The interactions between stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 and its receptors\nCXCR4 and CXCR7 play pivotal roles in the migration of MSC to injured tissues. We evaluated whether a histone deacetylase\ninhibitor valproic acid (VPA) modulates the migration of cord blood (CB-) derived MSC towards SDF-1 and their proliferation and\ndifferentiation.We found that in MSC, VPA increased (i) the gene and total protein expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7 and primed\nmigration towards a low gradient of SDF-1, (ii) the gene expression of MMP-2 and secretion and activation of proMMP-2, (iii) the\nproliferation and gene expression of pluripotencymarkers SOX2 andOct-4, and exposure to lower concentrations of VPA (?5mM)\nhad no effect on their differentiation to osteocytes and chondrocytes.Thus, our study indicates that VPA enhances the migration\nof CB MSC towards SDF-1 by increasing the expression of CXCR4, CXCR7, and MMP-2. VPA at low concentrations may be used\nfor ex vivo treatment of MSC to increase their recruitment to sites of injury without compromising their ability to proliferate or\ndifferentiate.
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