BANKING HORSE ADIPOSE-DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS FOR ALLOGENIC TRANSPLANTATION: HOW CRYOCONSERVATION AFFECTS CELL MORPHOLOGY, CULTURAL FEATURES AND IN VIVO EFFICACY.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are self-renewable multipotent stromal cells, exhibiting an extensive proliferative potential. Numerous studies have demonstrated that they have immunomodulatory effects and inhibit T cell alloreactivity in vitro. A bank of cryopreserved equine adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSCs) was set up in our laboratory with the aim to evaluate the maintenance of several sternness features after freezing, including their efficacy in the treatment of teno-desmic lesions of sport horses. Cryopreservation gives the opportunity to store a high number of cells that are ready to use and that have been previously characterized concerning their biologic features. The results obtained by in vitro and in vivo tests carried out in this study demonstrated that the main properties of equine AdMSCs are preserved after cryoconservation. Our findings encourage the use of these cells as a safety and effective therapeutic tool in allogenic transplantation procedures.