Mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate systemic lupus erythematosus through regulating macrophages

CHEN Weiwei; DENG Wei; YAO Genhong; LI Wenchao; TANG Xiaojun; SUN Lingyun

doi:10.13431/j.cnki.immunol.j.20170148

Abstract：The study was designed to investigate whether umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) ameliorate lupus through regulating macrophages in lupus mice,and to offer a theory support for clinical use.24-week-old female B6.MRL-Faslpr (B6/lpr) mice were divided into three groups:control group,UCMSC-transplantation group and fibroblast like synoviocytes (FLS)-transplantation group,while C57BL/6 mice were served as normal control.UCMSC and FLS (1×106) were injected into the UCMSC and FLS groups via tail vein,respectively.And then,all mice were sacrificed at the age of 28 weeks.The therapeutic effects of UCMSC transplantation were evaluated by the renal pathology.Murine peritoneal/renal macrophages were isolated and purified,while CD4+ T cells were isolated from 8 week-old female C57BL/6 mice,and then the CD4+ T cells were cocultured with prepared peritoneal/renal macrophages in 5 ∶ 1 ratio with anti-CD3/CD28 antibody stimulation for 4 days.The proliferation of T cells was detected through CFSE staining by FACS.To determine the phagocytic activity of murine peritoneal/renal macrophages,flurospheres were added into the cultures for 2 hours,and the uptake of fluospheres was determined by FACS.Data showed that the degree of renal damage in UCMSC group decreased significantly;the immunomodulatory function of macrophages from B6.MRL-Faslpr mice was rescued by UCMSC.The murine peritoneal/renal macrophages from UCMSC-treated group suppressed the proliferation of CD4+ T cells effectively;the phagocytic activity of murine peritoneal macrophages from UCMSC-treated group was improved.These findings indicated that UCMSC has therapeutic effects on lupus mice partly through regulating macrophages.