title: ELISPOT assay as a tool to study the effects of stem cells on cytokine secretion.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have many regulatory effects (e.g., T-cell suppression) on various immune cells. As aberrant T-cell activation is a primary cause of many diseases, understanding the underlying mechanisms of how MSCs exert immunosuppression is an important issue with potential therapeutic implications. A group of cytokines was shown to be involved as soluble mediators in the immunosuppressive effects of MSCs. An enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay is an ideal method to find potential mediators involved in the MSC-immunosupporessive pathway; additionally, the ELISPOT assay can measure changes in the full spectrum of cytokines produced during T-cell activation in the presence of MSCs. Here, we show that during a mixed lymphocyte reaction, interleukin-10 (IL-10)-secreting splenocytes increased in number in the presence of MSC-conditioned media; the increase in IL-10 levels in the supernatant was confirmed by an independent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Seop
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Chung-Gyu
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000494:pharmacology; D058501:Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D016753:Interleukin-10