Cord blood stem cells (CB-SC) are unique type of stem cells identified from human cord blood and are distinguished from other known types of stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC)1. Based on their unique properties of immune modulation and their ability to tightly adhere to the surface of Petri dishes, we developed a new technology designated as Stem Cell Educator (SCE) therapy in clinical trials2,3. During SCE therapy, a patient’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are collected and circulated through a cell separator and co-cultured with adherent CB-SC in vitro. These “educated” cells (CB-SC-treated PBMC) are then returned to the patient’s circulation in a closed-loop system. Clinical trials have already demonstrated the clinical safety and efficacy of SCE therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes (T1D)2,4 and alopecia areata (AA)5.
Exosomes are a family of nanoparticles with diameters ranging 30‒150 nm and exist in all biofluid and cell culture media6. Exosomes are enriched with many bioactive molecules including lipids, mRNAs, proteins, and microRNAs (miRNA), and play an important role in cell-to-cell communications. Of late, exosomes have become more attractive for researchers and pharmaceutical companies due to their therapeutic potentials in clinics7,8,9. Recently, our mechanistic studies demonstrated that CB-SC-released exosomes contribute to the immune modulation of SCE therapy10.
Here, we describe the protocol to explore the mechanism of SCE therapy targeting monocytes by CB-SC-released exosomes. First, CB-SC-released exosomes were isolated from CB-SC-derived conditioned media using ultracentrifugation methods and validated by flow cytometry, western blot (WB) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Second, CB-SC-derived exosomes were labeled with a green fluorescent lipophilic dye: Dio. Third, they were co-cultured with PBMC to examine the positive percentages of Dio-labeled CB-SC-derived exosomes at the different subpopulations of PBMC by flow cytometry. This protocol provides guidance to study the action of exosomes underlying the immune modulation of stem cells.