The Role of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Sterm Cells in Attenuating Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rat Lung Transplantation Model

Abstract

Purpose We hypothesize that intratracheal transplantation of human UC-derived MSCs could attenuate ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat lung transplantation model. Methods and Materials One hundred and twenty rats were randomized to 3 groups, including RLPD group, UC-MSCs group, and saline group.Forty rats in each group were randomized into 5 subgroups, cold preservation for 4h, 6h, 8h, 12h, and 24h.The left lungs were used for transplantation, and the right lungs were only preserved in low temperature solution.For right lungs, lung tissue wet-to-dry (W/D) ratio, pathological examination were obtained. The level of IL-10,TNF-α, and IFN-γin lung tissue was detected by Real-time PCR,and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA),the myeloperoxidase(MPO) activity, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were detected by reagent kits. After reperfusion for 1 hour, the artery blood gas analysis of donors were tested and the allografts were harvested for pathological examination. Results The UC-derived cells shared most of the immunophenotype with UC-MSCs, including positivity for CD105 and negativity for CD14,CD34, and CD79.The W/D ratio,level of TNF-α,IFN-γand MDA,and MPO activity were much lower in UC-MSCs group,and were the highest in saline group.The level of IL-10 and SOD activity were the highest in UC-MSCs group,and the lowest in saline group.The W/D ratio, level of MDA,SOD and MPO activity were raised with time, the level of TNF-α and IL-10 decreased with time. The artery blood gas analysis showed the UC-MSCs group with the highest PaO2 and the lowest PaCO2. The lung injury scores were the lowest in UC-MSCs group,and the highest in saline group.After reperfusion for one hour, the injury score was also the lowest in UC-MSCs group and the worest in saline group,and went worse with time in each group. Conclusions The UC-derived MSCs attenuated ischemia-reperfusion injury as an addition to RLPD and improved pulmonary function after perfusion of the allografts.