Effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)-modified rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on T lymphocyte subsets in rats with liver cirrhosis / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)-modified rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) on T lymphocyte subsets in cirrhotic rats.Methods:A rat model of liver cirrhosis was established by intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCL 4) in 110 rats. These rats were randomly divided into three groups, model group, BMMSCs group and HO-1/BMMSCs group, and injected with PBS, BMMSCs and HO-1/BMMSCs through dorsal penile vein, respectively. Another 10 rats were selected as control group. All rats were executed four weeks after intervention. Pathological changes in liver tissues were observed with HE and Sirius red staining. Serum albumin (ALB) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were detected by biochemical analyzer. Serum hyaluronidase (HA) and collagen type Ⅳ (Ⅳ-C) were detected by ELISA. T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood and spleen were detected by flow cytometry. Results:The rat model of cirrhosis was successfully established. Compared with the model group and BMMSCs group, the HO-1/BMMSCs group had significantly lower Ishak score and disease stage ( P<0.05), increased serum ALB level and CD4 + T/CD8 + T cell ratio ( P<0.05), and decreased serum ALT, HA and Ⅳ-C levels and Th17/Treg ratio ( P<0.05). Conclusions:HO-1/BMMSCs could improve liver function and liver fibrosis in cirrhotic rats more effectively than BMMSCs alone. The mechanism was possibly through regulating the immunomodulatory function of T lymphocyte subsets in cirrhotic rats.