Effect of combined treatment with human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells and human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on liver function, inflammation grade, and immune function in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo retrospectively investigate the effect of combined treatment with human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB-MNCs) and human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on liver function, inflammation grade, and immune function in patients with hepatitis B-related decompensated cirrhosis. Methods 11 patients with liver cirrhosis who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from November 2016 to June 2019 were enrolled in this clinical study and were given infusion of hUCB-MNCs (＞18×109/time) once in the first week and infusion of hUC-MSCs (1×106/kg) once a week in the second, third, and fourth weeks. Reexamination was performed at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment to compare the changes in liver function, blood ammonia, blood coagulation factors, serum levels of cytokines, and lymphocyte subsets after treatment, and the changes in neurological and psychiatric symptoms were observed and recorded. A one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between groups. ResultsAfter the combined treatment with hUCB-MNCs and hUC-MSCs, all 11 patients achieved certain improvements in psychiatric and neurological symptoms after infusion, and liver function parameters and blood coagulation function basically returned to normal (all P＜0.05). At 12 weeks after the combined infusion of cells, blood ammonia level returned to the normal level (P＜0.05), and there were significant reductions in the levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor (F=49497 and 37.071, both P＜0.05) and significant increases in the levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokines transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-10 (F=35.843 and 15.918, both P＜005). There were also significant reductions in the percentages of the cytotoxic cells CD3+CD8+ T and CD19+ B cells (F=52.242 and 89.097, both P＜0.05) and a significant increase in the regulatory T cells CD4+CD25+ (F=17.337, P＜0.05). ConclusionCombined treatment with hUCB-MNCs and hUC-MSCs for liver cirrhosis can optimize liver function, reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines, alleviate liver inflammation and liver cell destruction, and increase regulatory T cells, thereby affecting the body’s immune function.