Table 2.

Selected recent studies using preconditioned MSCs in in vivo models^a

Preconditioning regimen	Source of MSCs/species	In vivo model/species	Main findings of cell transplantation (versus non-preconditioned MSCs)	Year of publication [reference]
Hypoxia	BM-MSCs, human	hind limb ischemia, mouse	increased restoration of blood flow	2008 [75]
Hypoxia	BM-MSCs, mouse	myocardial infarction, mouse	increased angiogenesis, reduced cell death and apoptosis of implanted cells	2008 [76]
Hypoxia	AT-MSCs, human	acute kidney injury, rat	improved renal function, improved vascularization and histological injury	2014 [77]
Hypoxia	AT-MSCs, mouse	acute kidney injury, mouse	ameliorated renal function, lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines	2016 [78]
Anoxia	BM-MSCs, mouse	myocardial infarction, mouse	increased left ventricular ejection, reduced apoptotic cardiomyocytes	2006 [87]
Anoxia	BM-MSCs, rat	diabetic cardiomyopathy, rat	increased capillary density, attenuated myocardial fibrosis, increased fractional shortening of diabetic heart	2008 [79]
3D spheroid culture	BM-MSCs, human	peritonitis, mouse	better lung trafficking, more effective in suppressing inflammatory responses	2010 [88]
EGF	BM-MSCs, mouse	hind limb ischemia, mouse	recovery of blood flow and angiogenesis	2010 [118]
PDGF-BB	BM-MSCs, human	myocardial infarction, mouse	enhanced functional recovery	2015 [96]
TGF-β	BM-MSCs, mouse	acute myocardial injury, rat	enhanced myocardial functional recovery	2010 [92]
GDNF	AF-MSCs, human	acute kidney injury, mouse	ameliorated renal function and tubular injury, increased MSC homing to the tubulointerstitial compartment	2012 [93]
IGF-1	BM-MSCs, mouse	acute kidney injury, mouse	improved cell migration capacity, reduction in tubular necrosis, restored renal function	2013 [94]
FGF-2, IGF-1, BMP-2	BM-MSCs, rat	myocardial infarction, rat	smaller infarct size, better cardiac function, enhanced gap junction formation	2008 [91]
TNF-α	AT-MSCs, human	cutaneous wound-healing model, rat	accelerated wound closure, angiogenesis, proliferation, improved wound repair	2011 [95]
SDF-1	BM-MSCs, rat	myocardial infarction, rat	reduction in infarct size and fibrosis, significant improvement in cardiac function, enhanced cell survival, engraftment, and vascular density	2008 [90]
Angiotensin-II	BM-MSCs, rat	myocardial infarction, rat	better cardiac function, less cardiac fibrosis, smaller infarct size, higher expression of VEGF in ischemic myocardium	2015 [103]
Melatonin	BM-MSCs, rat	focal cerebral ischemia, rat	reduced apoptosis, reduced brain infarction and improved neurobehavioral outcomes	2014 [104]
Melatonin	BM-MSCs, rat	acute kidney injury, rat	increased MSC survival, proliferation of renal cells, accelerated renal recovery	2008 [105]
Oxytocin	UC-MSCs, human	myocardial infarction, rat	increased ejection fraction, lower cardiac fibrosis and macrophage infiltration	2012 [119]
LPS	BM-MSCs, mouse	myocardial infarction, rat	enhanced survival of engrafted MSCs and neovascularization, stimulated expression of VEGF, enhanced recovery of cardiac function	2009 [108]
TLR3 activation (Poly(I:C))	BM-MSCs, porcine	cardiomyopathy, hamster	improved cardiac function, decreased inflammatory cells and cytokines	2012 [120]
Hydrogen peroxide	WJ-MSCs, human	myocardial infarction, mouse	improvement in left ventricular contractility, increased neovascularization and reduced myocardial fibrosis	2012 [121]
Deferoxamine	BM-MSCs, rat	streptozotocin-induced diabetes, rat	increased homing of MSCs in pancreas	2013 [111]

^aWe applied a PubMed search using the terms ‘preconditioning’ and ‘mesenchymal stem’. In addition, we only focus on preconditioning regimens tested in in vivo disease models and not simply in vitro studies with appropriate control animals, i.e., animals treated with non-preconditioned cells.

AF-MSCs = Amnion fluid-derived MSCs; AT-MSCs = adipose tissue-derived MSCs; BM-MSCs = bone marrow-derived MSCs; BMP = bone morphogenetic protein; EGF = epidermal growth factor; FGF = fibroblast growth factor; GDNF = glial cell-derived growth factor; IGF-1 = insulin-like growth factor-1; LPS = lipopolysaccharide; PDGF = platelet-derived growth factor; Poly(I:C) = polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid; SDF-1 = stromal cell-derived factor-1; ROS = reactive oxygen species; TGF-β = transforming growth factor-β; TLR = Toll-like receptor; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor-α; VEGF = vascular endothelial growth factor; WJ-MSCs = Wharton's jelly-derived MSCs.