Background aims: Microvesicles (MV) shed from the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells, including human embryonic stem cells (hESC), contain proteins, lipids and RNA and serve as mediators of cell-to-cell communication. However, they may also contain immunogenic membrane domains and infectious particles acquired from xenogenic components of the culture milieu. Therefore, MV represent a potential risk for clinical application of cell therapy.
Methods: We tested the ability of hESC and their most commonly used feeder cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), to produce MV. We found that hESC are potent producers of MV, whereas mitotically inactivated MEF do not produce any detectable MV. We therefore employed a combined proteomic approach to identify the molecules that constitute the major components of MV from hESC maintained in a standard culture setting with xenogenic feeder cells.
Results: In purified MV fractions, we identified a total of 22 proteins, including five unique protein species that are known to be highly expressed in invasive cancers and participate in cellular activation, metastasis and inhibition of apoptosis. Moreover, we found that hESC-derived MV contained the immunogenic agents apolipoprotein and transferrin, a source of Neu5Gc, as well as mouse retroviral Gag protein.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that MV represent a mechanism by which hESC communicate; however, they also serve as potential carriers of immunogenic and pathogenic compounds acquired from environment. Our results highlight a potential danger regarding the use of hESC that have previously been exposed to animal proteins and cells.