Comparative Evaluation of the Wound-Healing Effects of Autologous and Allogeneic Myoblast Cell Sheets in a Rat Gastric Ulcer Model

We previously reported the results of a first-in-human (FIH) clinical trial involving laparoscopic transplantation of autologous myoblast sheets following duodenal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) to prevent delayed perforation. To further advance the commercialization of skeletal muscle-derived cell sheets, a future challenge is the investigation of allogeneic transplantation. Therefore, we compared the wound-healing effects of autologous and allogeneic myoblast cell sheets in a rat model of acetate-induced gastric ulcers. Our findings suggest that one and three days after injection and transplantation, the diameter of artificial ulcers in both the autologous and allogeneic transplantation groups tended to be smaller than in the control group. To explore the factors contributing to ulcer shrinkage following skeletal muscle-derived cell sheet transplantation, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ulcerated gastric tissues on postoperative day 1 (POD1). Each transplantation group was compared with the control group, which did not receive skeletal muscle-derived cell sheet transplantation. The transplanted skeletal muscle-derived cell sheets consisted of three types: L8 cell sheets, used as a mimic of autologous skeletal muscle-derived cells (Auto); BN/SsNSlc mouse-derived allogeneic skeletal muscle-derived cells (Allo BN); and DA/Slc mouse-derived allogeneic skeletal muscle-derived cells (Allo DA). In the control group, no cell sheet transplantation was performed, and the abdominal cavity was immediately closed.