EVALUATION COMMITTEE

The Faculty Council has appointed the following adjudication committee to evaluate the thesis and the associated lecture: 

• Prof. Li Chen,  Guilin Medical University, Guangxi.
• Prof. Charlotte Harken Jensen, Co-group leader senior scientist, University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and Odense University Hospital (OUH)
• Prof. Bennike, HST, Aalborg University (Chairman).

Moderator:
Prof. Cristian Pablo Pennisi, HST, Aalborg University

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The Ph.D. Defense is organized as a hybrid event you can participate digitally via Zoom or physical presence. 

Please click here to participate via Zoom.

Meeting ID: 624 3385 6708

ABSTRACT

Adipose-derived stem cells are a promising candidate for the treatment of chronic wounds. However, several challenges are to be met before it can be a clinical reality. The fatty tissue from which ASCs are isolated arrives from donors. However, ASCs from different donors have been shown to have other characteristics and potencies. Therefore, a thorough characterization and testing of the potency of the ASCs are essential. A review was conducted to identify potency assays relevant to wound healing and the difference between donors tested concerning angiogenesis and ECM formation in study 1, both central in wound healing. Furthermore, the difference between donors regarding the regulation of the inflammation phase is crucial, as touched upon in study 2. Finally, the source of the origin of these differences was sought in study 3, where different subpopulations of ASCs were shown to exhibit enhanced wound healing properties.

When producing advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), as an ASC-based product, several steps in the production can affect the final product. A high number of stem cells are needed for treating a chronic wound, and producing larger badges is more cost-effective. Therefore, isolated ASCs are expanded and stored as frozen to provide an off-the-shelf product. To optimize the choice of cryoprotectant used for storage, study 4 aimed to find a “safer” solution. 

In study 1, we observed variability in wound healing properties between ASC-donor variations. When determining the superior ASCs donor with functional tests regarding wound healing, we found that the angiogenesis and ECM relevant genes were upregulated in the distinguished ASCs donor on the ASC genomics. In study 2, our findings demonstrated that the importance of the measured inflammatory response when differentiating the THP-1 monocytes into the M1 phenotype and the anti-inflammatory properties of ASCs might be falsely diminished when RT-qPCR analysis normalized with the less stable reference genes relative to the most stable gene. In study 3, we revealed for the first time that the CD274+CD146+CD248+ phenotypes subpopulations of ASCs were shown to the enhancing wound closure capacity and endothelial tube formation potential. In study 4, our results demonstrated that ASCs could be effectively cryopreserved in a freezing medium that combined PIM with a low concentration of DMSO and reduced the use of DMSO to only 2.5%, which could be a better storage choice for the benefit of ASCs in clinical.

In conclusion, our findings promote a better understanding of the translation of ASCs into clinical use to treat chronic wounds.