Study of leptin-treated mesenchymal stem cells modulate subsets of immune cells / 中国免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:Our previous study demonstrated serum leptin in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) ac-celerated the senescence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC),the aim of this study is to observe the effects of leptin-treated MSC on immune cells.Methods:Umbilical cord derived MSCs were isolated,and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in SLE patients were obtained by density gradient centrifugation with Ficoll.Three groups were divided,PBMC only,the co-culture of PBMC and MSC treated with or without leptin (100 ng/ml).The frequencies of immune cells were detected by flow cytometry,including CD4+CD25+Foxp3+regulatory T (Treg) cells,CD4+IL-17+Th17 cells,CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+T follicular helper (Tfh) cells,and CD19+B cells.Results:The frequency of regulatory T cells was lower in leptin-treated MSC group,compared with MSC group.The frequency of Th17 cells was increased by MSC pretreated with leptin.The frequency of Tfh cells was elevated by leptin-treated MSC compared with MSC control,but there was no statistical significance.MSC pretreated with leptin also restored the activation of T cells evaluated by CD25 and CD69,compared with untreated MSC.In addition,leptin-treated MSC increased the median fluorescence intensity of CD25, but not CD69 on B cells.Conclusion:Leptin not only accelerated cell senescence of MSC in vitro,but also impaired the capacity of MSC modulating the immune cells.