Repeated intravenous injection of adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells enhances Th1 immune responses in Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice

• Published in: Immunology letters 2019-12, Vol.216, p.97-105
• Main Authors: Zanganeh, Elham, Soudi, Sara, Zavaran Hosseini, Ahmad, Khosrojerdi, Arezou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdominal Fat - cytology; Animals; BALB/c; Cells, Cultured - transplantation; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Humans; Immunomodulation; Injections, Intravenous; L. major; Leishmania major - immunology; Leishmania major - isolation & purification; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - blood; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - therapy; Lymph Nodes - immunology; Lymph Nodes - parasitology; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation - methods; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Parasite Load; Primary Cell Culture; Skin - immunology; Skin - parasitology; Spleen - immunology; Spleen - parasitology; Th1 Cells - immunology
• ISSN: 0165-2478; 1879-0542
• DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2019.10.008

•AD-MSCs therapy induces higher CD8+/CD4 + T lymphocytes in leishmaniasis.•AD-MSCs therapy increases IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio.•Parasite load and regulatory T cells decrease after AD-MSCs therapy. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) therapy are among new strategies that are used to combat infections through immunomodulation. Cell number, route and frequency of injection and the duration of exposure to the infectious agent are of the main factors to determine the effectiveness of cell therapy. The current study was aimed to assess the effect of multiple intravenous (i.v.) injection of adipose tissue derived (AD)-MSCs on immune response of Leishmania (L.) major-infected BALB/c mice. Therefore, infected mice received AD-MSCs four times during the early phase of infection through i.v. route. They were then monitored weekly for footpad swelling and lesion development. Parasite burden, nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine production were measured in the spleen and lymph node 90 days post-infection. Delayed lesion development, significant reduction in footpad swelling and lower parasite burden in the spleen of AD-MSCs-treated mice showed the relative effect of AD-MSCs therapy in the control of L. major dissemination. In addition, MSCs were able to manage direct cytokine responses toward T‐helper 1 (Th1). Although the level of interleukin (IL)-10 was still higher than the associated level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, a shift towards higher level of TNF-α was also observed.