title: Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells inhibited T follicular helper cell generation in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: T follicular helper (Tfh) cells provide help for antigen-specific B cells. We have previously shown that Tfh cell frequency was increased and associated with auto-antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggesting a possible involvement of Tfh cells in its pathogenesis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising alternative cell therapy for RA by modulating T and B cell activation and proliferation. However, it remains unknown whether MSCs have immunoregulation on Tfh cells. In this paper, we have demonstrated that allogeneic MSCs could suppress Tfh cell differentiation in RA patients partly via the production of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). IFNγ generated from Tfh cell differentiation system induced IDO expression on MSCs. MSCs transplantation (MSCT) into collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice prevented arthritis progression by inhibiting both the number and function of Tfh cells in vivo. These findings reveal a novel suppressive function of MSCs in Tfh cells, which has implication in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the immunotherapeutic effects of MSCs on RA patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Drum Tower Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, College of Basic Medical Science, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, 116044, PR China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, The Affliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhuoya
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Drum Tower Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, The Affliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Drum Tower Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Dinglei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Drum Tower Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuebing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Model Animal for Disease Study, Model Animal Research Center, Nanjing University, 12 Xuefu Road, Nanjing 210000, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, 2250 Alcazar Street, CSA 103, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Songtao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Mucosal Immunology Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Wanjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Drum Tower Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, PR China.
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies