Immunomodulatory Effect of Human Umbilical Cord Blood-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Activated T-lymphocyte

Parisa Lotfinejad; Karim Shamsasenjan; Behzad Baradaran; Elham Safarzadeh; Tohid Kazemi; Ali Akbar Movassaghpour

doi:10.18502/ijaai.v20i6.8022

Parisa Lotfinejad Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Karim Shamsasenjan Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Behzad Baradaran Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Elham Safarzadeh Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Tohid Kazemi Department of Immunology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Ali Akbar Movassaghpour Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijaai.v20i6.8022

Keywords: Cytokines; Immunomodulation; Mesenchymal stem cells; T-lymphocytes

Abstract

Many studies have been performed about regenerative and immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their application in different treatment approaches. The present study aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCB-MSCs) on the gene expression profile of cytokines in stimulated T-lymphocytes.

For this purpose, MSCs were isolated from umbilical cord blood samples and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. The nature of MSCs was identified by flow cytometry analysis and differentiation to the adipocyte and osteocyte lineage. Moreover, to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of MSCs on T cells,
a co-culture system was designed and expression levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10,
IL-13, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and transforming growth
factor-beta (TGF-β) genes were measured; using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique.

Our results demonstrated the ability of MSCs to differentiate into adipocyte and osteocyte lineages. Further investigation also displayed that although UCB-MSCs could significantly
reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in activated T-lymphocytes, they noticeably potentiated the expression levels of IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, and TGF-β in the co-culture setting.

In conclusion, UCB-MSCs have immunomodulatory effects on activated T-lymphocytes in favor of anti-inflammatory responses.