PhD Scientific Days 2026

Theoretical and Translational Medicine 3.

Impact of Genetic Background, Passage Number, and Confluency on the Transcriptome of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Előadó neve

Dr. Demeter, Flóra, MSc

Neptune code

DBWYCM

Előadó munkahelye

Semmelweis University, Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology, Research Laboratory

Előadó telefonszáma

06202552023

Előadó e-mail címe

flora.demeter@gmail.com

Az előadás címe

Impact of Genetic Background, Passage Number, and Confluency on the Transcriptome of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Szerző(k) neve és munkahelye

Flóra Demeter¹, Erika Kajdácsi¹, Dorina Vadicsku¹, György Bihari¹, László Cervenak¹

1: Semmelweis University, Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology, Research Laboratory

Bemutatás módja

Szóbeli

Szekció

Theoretical and Translational Medicine 3.

Language of the presentation

English

Preferred session

Theoretical and Translational Medicine

Összefoglaló szövege

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to their immunomodulatory and tissue regenerative properties, are promising tools for cell-based therapies; however, their clinical efficacy shows considerable variability. This variability may arise from several factors, including donor heterogeneity, as well as differences in passage number and confluency—culture parameters that are critical for the bioreactor-based production of therapeutic quantities of MSCs. Our aim was to investigate how donor variability, passage number, and confluency influence the transcriptomic and functional state of MSCs. Two well-characterized human MSC lines derived from individual donors were cultured under identical conditions at different passage numbers (4 and 8) and confluencies (30% and 100%). Global gene expression profiling of the eight resulting samples was performed using the Agilent microarray platform. Following preprocessing of the raw data, 13,474 expressed protein-coding genes (“whole MSC transcriptome”) were further analyzed using bioinformatic approaches. Hierarchical clustering of the whole MSC transcriptome primarily separated samples according to confluency and secondarily by passage number. Differential gene expression analysis identified 225 genes associated with passage number, 212 with confluency, and 156 genes reflecting inter-donor genetic differences, each showing at least a twofold statistically significant difference in expression. Correlation and principal component analyses revealed that sample segregation was mainly driven by confluency and passage number, whereas donor effects were less pronounced. Confluency predominantly affected cellular functions related to inflammatory responses, chemotaxis, and responses to growth factors, while passage number influenced processes associated with stem cell fate determination, extracellular matrix organization, cell migration, and tissue regeneration. Our results indicate that MSC gene expression and function are more strongly influenced by culture conditions than by donor variability, which may impact their immunosuppressive and regenerative potential. Therefore, strict standardization of cell culture protocols is essential to improve the efficacy of MSC-based therapies. Supported by the University Research Scholarship Programme (EKÖP),Ministry of Culture and Innovation, National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

University

Semmelweis University

Supervisor

László Cervenak

Publication of my abstract

I give consent to the publication of my abstract on the website of the congress.

phd.section.field

in doctoral studies after complex exam (PhD)

Kind

Szabad

Status

elfogadva

Accepted presentation method

szóbeli

Előadás fájl jóváhagyás

nem rendelkezett róla

Előadó

7484

Start

11:00

End

11:10