title: Immunological properties of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.
abstract: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for developing cell therapies for intractable diseases. To assess the feasibility of transplantation with human umbilical cord blood (hUCB)-derived MSCs, we analyzed the ability of these cells to function as alloantigen-presenting cells (APC) in vitro. hUCB-MSCs were strongly positive for MSC-related antigens and stained positively for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-AB and negatively for HLA-DR. When treated with interferon (IFN)-gamma, the expression of HLA-AB and HLA-DR, but not the co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86, was increased. hUCB-MSCs did not provoke allogeneic PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cell) proliferation, even when their HLA-molecule expression was up-regulated by IFN-gamma pretreatment. When added to a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), hUCB-MSCs actively suppressed the allogeneic proliferation of the responder lymphocytes. This suppressive effect was mediated by soluble factors. We conclude that hUCB-MSCs can suppress the allogeneic response of lymphocytes and may thus be useful in allogeneic cell therapies.
authors.affiliation: Medipost Biomedical Research Institute, Medipost Co Ltd, Asan Institute of Life Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Wonil
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Dal-Soo
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yoon Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jae Kwon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D008648:Mesoderm; D011247:Pregnancy; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D007371:Interferon-gamma