Potenziale terapeutico e neoplastico della plasticità staminale

Stem cells represent an extraordinary therapeutic promise. However, the charming perspective of theirs varied clinical applications, cannot leave aside from a characterization of their biological property and from the eventual risks associated to their inappropriate use. Among the several stem populations, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging during the last few years as the most promising for a therapeutic application, given their easy availability, multilinear plasticity, extraordinary pro-angiogenic and immunosuppressive properties. Adipose tissue represents an ideal source of MSCs because its abundance over the entire lifespan of humans. It represents a long term source of mesenchymal stem cells. In this thesis we characterized MSCs from adipose tissue for molecular markers, known to be involved in the development (stemness-related genes, polycomb (PcG) and trithorax (TrxG) genes, microRNA), in the cell-cell and cell-enviroment interaction (adhesion molecules, cytokines) and in the angiogenesis. An in silico study has been used to compared the expression profile of the MSCs, with other adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells and adult tissues, for the PcG/TrxG genes and the microRNA. Moreover, it has been estimated whether and how the expression of these markers in the MSCs from adipose tissue varied according with aging. Since many phenotypic property of the mesenchymal stem cells, first of all the extraordinary pro-angiogenic ability, are similar to the property of the reactive stromal cells that support the carcinoma development, the tumor-supporting potential of MSCs has been investigated on a murine model of mammary carcinogenesis.