Impact of HOXB7 overexpression on human adipose-derived mesenchymal progenitors

The ex vivo expansion potential of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) together with their differentiation and secretion properties makes these cells an attractive tool for transplantation and tissue engineering. Although the use of MSC is currently being tested in a growing number of clinical trials, it is still desirable to identify molecular markers that may help improve their performance both in vitro and after transplantation. Recently, HOXB7 was identified as a master player driving the proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal progenitors. In this study, we investigated the effect of HOXB7 overexpression on the ex vivo features of adipose mesenchymal progenitors (AD-MSC). HOXB7 increased AD-MSC proliferation potential, reduced senescence, and improved chondrogenesis together with a significant increase of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) secretion. While further investigations and in vivo models shall be applied for better understanding, these data suggest that modulation of HOXB7 may be a strategy for innovative tissue regeneration applications.