RESUMEN
Objective:To investigate the effects of 17β-Estradiol (E2) on mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and to evaluate the effects of MSC treated with E2 on the maturation and function of dendritic cells (DC).Methods: We first isolated and cultured MSC from the human fetal lung.The MSC were treated with E2 for 24 hours at various concentrations ( 10~(-9),10~(-8) and 10~(-7) mol/L).After cell counting,proliferation,adherent ability and immunophenotypes of MSC were detected by flowcytometry.The gene expressions of cytokine (IL-6,TGF-βand VEGF) were measured by RT-PCR.The effects of MSC treated with E2 on the maturation and function of DC were determined.Results:After treated with E2,the proliferation and adherent ability of MSC were increased,while the immunophenotypes of MSC were not affected.When MSCs co-cultured with DC,MSC could inhibit the immuophenotypes and function of DC.However,when DC co-cultured with E2-pretreated MSC,the immunophenotypes (MHC Ⅱ,CD80 and CD86) of DC had been reconstructed.After treated with the high concentration of E2 for 24 hours,MSC secreted lower level of TGF-β than that in the control group,while IL-6 and VEGF expressions were increased compared with those in the control group.Conclusion: Estrogen may alter the immuno-suppressive effects of MSC on DC via modulating the cytokine secretion of MSC.