276 - Biologic Potential of Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Exposed to Maternal Marijuana and Active SARS-CoV-2 Infection at Delivery

Poster Number: 276
Publication Number: 276.226

Adnan Ismail, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, United States; Fayez M. Bany-Mohammed, UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA, United States; Cherry Uy, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, United States; Muhammad Aslam, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, United States

Background:
COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a worldwide pandemic with cytokine storm as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. It is known that pregnant women are at higher risk of viral infections given an alteration in immune response. Mothers who smoke cigarettes and marijuana during pregnancy are at an even higher risk. The infection varies from asymptomatic to severe disease in pregnant women depending upon the degree of inflammation and cytokine storm. At present, limited data are available to show the effects of simultaneous maternal marijuana smoking and SARS-CoV-2 infection on the biologic efficacy of human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

Objective:
We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 infection in combination with marijuana smoking of the pregnant mother at the time of delivery will lead to an alteration in the growth and differential potential of cord-derived MSCs. Our aims included collection, isolation and growth of human umbilical cord derived MSCs followed by assessment of their differentiation potential.

Design/Methods:
The study was approved by the Institutional IRB. The umbilical cords were collected from the following groups of pregnant mothers at the time of delivery: Normal (non-marijuana smoking and negative SARS-CoV-2 infection), Marijuana (smoking with negative SARS-CoV-2), Covid Marijuana (marijuana smoking with positive SARS-CoV-2 infection) and Covid Non-Marijuana (marijuana non-smoking with positive SARS-CoV-2 infection). Plastic adherent cells were harvested from 3 pooled human umbilical cords from each group. These cells were cultured and underwent immunodepletion per International Society for Cellular Therapy guidelines to isolate MSCs. MSCs were cultured in MSC-culture media to assess the duplication time. Similarly, MSCs were cultured in differentiation media (adipocytes and osteocytes) to assess differentiation time.

Results:
Figure 1 shows the duplication and differentiation time of cord derived MSCs from each group. The smoker showed the longest duplication and differentiation time. Covid non-smoker group showed the shortest duplication and differentiation time. Covid Smoker group showed similar duplication and differentiation time as normal controls. All these results were statistically significant (T-test and Mann Whitney Test).
Conclusion(s):
Maternal marijuana smoking and active SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of delivery alters the growth and differentiation potential of cord-derived MSCs. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are currently in progress to determine how this change effects the biological potential of these cells.

Figure 1: Duplication and Differentiation Potential of MSCsIMG_0067.jpegBiologic properties of MSCs exposed to marijuana with and without active SARS-CoV-2 infection at delivery