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

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 samplesand 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, IL4, IL-6, IL-10, IL13, interferongamma (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNFα), and transforming growth factorbeta (TGFβ) 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 IL2, IL6, IFNγ, and TNFα in activated T-lymphocytes, they noticeably potentiated the expression levels of IL4, IL10, IL13, and TGFβ in the co-culture setting. In conclusion, UCB-MSCs have immunomodulatory effects on activated T-lymphocytes in favor of anti-inflammatory responses.