Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exhibit potent immunoregulatory abilities by interacting with cells of the adaptive and innate immune system. In vitro, MSCs inhibit the differentiation of T cells into T helper 17 (Th17) cells and repress their proliferation. In vivo, the administration of MSCs to treat various experimental inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and bowel disease showed promising therapeutic results. These therapeutic properties mediated by MSCs are associated with an attenuated immune response characterized by a reduced frequency of Th17 cells and the generation of regulatory T cells. In this manuscript, we review how MSC and Th17 cells interact, communicate, and exchange information through different ways such as cell-to-cell contact, secretion of soluble factors, and organelle transfer. Moreover, we discuss the consequences of this dynamic dialogue between MSC and Th17 well described by their phenotypic and functional plasticity.
Highlights
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a self-renewing cell population present in a wide variety of tissues
Previous reports from our group showed that MSCs exert immunosuppression to pathogenic T helper 17 (Th17) cells in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [41,162]; we aimed to investigate whether MSCs modulated the inflammatory environment in RA patient joints through mitochondrial transfer to T cells
To acquire an immunoregulatory phenotype and function, and to regulate immune responses, MSCs need to be activated by factors released by pro-inflammatory immune cells such as Th17 cells
Summary
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a self-renewing cell population present in a wide variety of tissues. In RA individuals, the increased frequency of Th17 cells is mediated through either a reduction in the number of Treg or a qualitative defect in their function [42] In this context, parallel to the biotherapies that are already widely used in the clinic, MSC-based therapy approaches were investigated for many years [43]. This attractiveness of MSCs to treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders relies on their capacity to repress the function and the proliferation of pathogenic immune cells while educating regulatory immune cells. These potent MSC inhibitory/regulatory properties on Th17 cells are mediated through different mechanisms that are tackled in this review
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