COPD is a chronic
lung disease that affects millions of people, declining their lung function and impairing their life quality. Despite years of research and drug approvals, we are still not capable of halting progression or restoring normal lung function. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are cells with extraordinary repair capacity, and MSC-based
therapy brings future hope for
COPD treatment, although the best source and route of administration are unclear. MSC from adipose tissue (AD-MSC) represents an option for autologous treatment; however, they could be less effective than donor MSC. We compared in vitro behavior of AD-MSC from
COPD and non-
COPD individuals by migration/proliferation assay, and tested their therapeutic potential in an
elastase mouse model. In addition, we tested intravenous versus intratracheal routes, inoculating umbilical cord (UC) MSC and analyzed molecular changes by
protein array. Although
COPD AD-MSC have impaired migratory response to
VEGF and cigarette
smoke, they were as efficient as non-
COPD in reducing
elastase-induced lung
emphysema. UC-MSC reduced lung
emphysema regardless of the administration route and modified the inflammatory profile in
elastase-treated mice. Our data demonstrate equal therapeutic potential of AD-MSC from
COPD and non-
COPD subjects in the pre-clinical model, thus supporting their autologous use in disease.