Mesenchymal stem cells derived from iPSCs expressing interleukin-24 inhibit the growth of melanoma in the tumor-bearing mouse model

Background Interleukin-24 (IL-24) is a therapeutic gene for melanoma, which can induce melanoma cell apoptosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show promise as a carrier to delivery anti-cancer factors to tumor tissues. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an alternative source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We previously developed a novel non-viral gene targeting vector to target IL-24 to human iPSCs. This study aims to investigate whether MSCs derived from the iPSCs with the site-specific integration of IL-24 can inhibit the growth of melanoma in a tumor-bearing mouse model via retro-orbital injection. Methods IL-24-iPSCs were differentiated into IL-24-iMSCs in vitro, of which cellular properties and potential of differentiation were characterized. The expression of IL-24 in the IL-24-iMSCs was measured by qRT-PCR, Western Blotting, and ELISA analysis. IL-24-iMSCs were transplanted into the melanoma-bearing mice by retro-orbital intravenous injection. The inhibitory effect of IL-24-iMSCs on the melanoma cells was investigated in a co-culture system and tumor-bearing mice. The molecular mechanisms underlying IL-24-iMSCs in exerting anti-tumor effect were also explored. Results iPSCs-derived iMSCs have the typical profile of cell surface markers of MSCs and have the ability to differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondroblasts. The expression level of IL-24 in IL-24-iMSCs reached 95.39 ng/10(6) cells/24 h, which is significantly higher than that in iMSCs, inducing melanoma cells apoptosis more effectively in vitro compared with iMSCs. IL-24-iMSCs exerted a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of melanoma in subcutaneous mouse models, in which the migration of IL-24-iMSCs to tumor tissue was confirmed. Additionally, increased expression of Bax and Cleaved caspase-3 and down-regulation of Bcl-2 were observed in the mice treated with IL-24-iMSCs. Conclusion MSCs derived from iPSCs with the integration of IL-24 at rDNA locus can inhibit the growth of melanoma in tumor-bearing mouse models when administrated via retro-orbital injection.