Candidate stem cell isolation and transplantation in Hexacorallia

Shani Talice ^1,2 Itamar Kozlovski ³ Shany K. Barkan ^1,2 Tom Levy ⁵ Shelly Oisher ¹ Ronnie Yannai ¹ Yehu Moran ³ Orly Gershoni-Yahalom ¹ Nikki Traylor-Knowles ⁴ Benyamin Rosental ¹

¹The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
²The Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
³Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
⁴Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami
⁵Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University

Stem cells are the foundation for cell therapy due to their ability to self-renew, differentiate into other cell types, and persist throughout the life of an organism. Stem cell isolation and transplantation have not yet been established in Hexacorallia, a cnidarian subclass containing stony corals and sea anemones. Here, we demonstrate that candidate stem cells in the hexacorallian Nematostella vectensis can be transplanted into adult animals. These cells exhibited the hallmarks of stem cell functional properties; they integrated into recipients’ tissues and rescued them from lethal doses of chemotherapy. Additionally, these cells proliferated and survived serial transplantations. Notably, we showed that this cellular subpopulation can be enriched by sorting using species-non-specific cell markers and that similar subpopulations of cells can be isolated from other hexacorallians, including stony corals. This research establishes the basis for studying stem cell biology on a functional level in Hexacorallia.