Hypoxic preconditioning promotes the immunosuppressive effects of mesenchymal stem cells in mice with colitis

In situ licensing of mesenchymal stem cell immunomodulatory function via BMP-2 induced developmental process

The immunomodulatory function of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is plastic and susceptible to resident microenvironment in vivo or inflammatory factors in vitro. We propose a unique method to enhance the immunoregulatory functions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) through an artificially controllable in vivo inflammatory microenvironment generated by biomaterials loaded with BMP-2 that induce bone development. MSCs activated through this method effectively induce M1 macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype, promote differentiation of naïve T cells into regulatory T cells, and inhibit the proliferation of activated T cells via prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) secretion. This in vivo licensing not only preserves the immunogenicity of MSCs but also alters DNA methylation patterns, enabling MSCs to exhibit immunoregulatory effects with epigenetic memory. Validation in a mouse colitis model demonstrated their therapeutic efficacy and long-term viability. Furthermore, we found that the material composition influences the inflammatory response during development, with polysaccharide-based biomaterials proving advantageous over protein-based materials in establishing an inflammatory niche conducive to MSC activity. These findings underscore the potential of tissue engineering to create in vivo environments that license MSCs, offering a strategic avenue to enhance MSC-based therapies for addressing significant immune disorders.

Hypoxia-Induced Signaling in Gut and Liver Pathobiology

Oxygen (O2) is essential for cellular metabolism and biochemical reactions. When the demand for O2 exceeds the supply, hypoxia occurs. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are essential to activate adaptive and survival responses following hypoxic stress. In the gut (intestines) and liver, the presence of oxygen gradients or physiologic hypoxia is necessary to maintain normal homeostasis. While physiologic hypoxia is beneficial and aids in normal functions, pathological hypoxia is harmful as it exacerbates inflammatory responses and tissue dysfunction and is a hallmark of many cancers. In this review, we discuss the role of gut and liver hypoxia-induced signaling, primarily focusing on HIFs, in the physiology and pathobiology of gut and liver diseases. Additionally, we examine the function of HIFs in various cell types during gut and liver diseases, beyond intestinal epithelial and hepatocyte HIFs. This review highlights the importance of understanding hypoxia-induced signaling in the pathogenesis of gut and liver diseases and emphasizes the potential of HIFs as therapeutic targets.

Therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs)-based cell therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) therapy

Recently, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) therapy has become an emerging therapeutic modality for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), given their immunoregulatory and pro-survival attributes. MSCs alleviate dysregulated inflammatory responses through the secretion of a myriad of anti-inflammatory mediators, such as interleukin 10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-stimulated gene-6 (TSG-6), etc. Indeed, MSC treatment of IBD is largely carried out through local microcirculation construction, colonization and repair, and immunomodulation, thus alleviating diseases severity. The clinical therapeutic efficacy relies on to the marked secretion of various secretory molecules from viable MSCs via paracrine mechanisms that are required for gut immuno-microbiota regulation and the proliferation and differentiation of surrounding cells like intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and intestinal stem cells (ISCs). For example, MSCs can induce IECs proliferation and upregulate the expression of tight junction (TJs)-associated protein, ensuring intestinal barrier integrity. Concerning the encouraging results derived from animal studies, various clinical trials are conducted or ongoing to address the safety and efficacy of MSCs administration in IBD patients. Although the safety and short-term efficacy of MSCs administration have been evinced, the long-term efficacy of MSCs transplantation has not yet been verified. Herein, we have emphasized the illumination of the therapeutic capacity of MSCs therapy, including naïve MSCs, preconditioned MSCs, and also MSCs-derived exosomes, to alleviate IBD severity in experimental models. Also, a brief overview of published clinical trials in IBD patients has been delivered.

Pretreated Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Secretome: Enhanced Immunotherapeutic Strategies

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with self-renewing, multilineage differentiation and immunomodulatory properties, have been extensively studied in the field of regenerative medicine and proved to have significant therapeutic potential in many different pathological conditions. The role of MSCs mainly depends on their paracrine components, namely secretome. However, the components of MSC-derived secretome are not constant and are affected by the stimulation MSCs are exposed to. Therefore, the content and composition of secretome can be regulated by the pretreatment of MSCs. We summarize the effects of different pretreatments on MSCs and their secretome, focusing on their immunomodulatory properties, in order to provide new insights for the therapeutic application of MSCs and their secretome in inflammatory immune diseases.

hUC-MSCs Attenuate Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease through Chi3l1 Repression of Th17 Differentiation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have already demonstrated definitive evidence of their clinical benefits in acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) and other inflammatory diseases. However, the comprehensive mechanism of MSCs' immunomodulation properties has not been elucidated. To reveal their potential immunosuppressive molecules, we used RNA sequencing to analyze gene expression in different tissue-derived MSCs, including human bone marrow, umbilical cord, amniotic membrane, and placenta, and found that chitinase-3-like protein 1 (Chi3l1) was highly expressed in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs). We found that hUC-MSCs treated with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) exhibited increased expression of Chi3l1 and concurrently repressed T-helper 17 cell (Th17) differentiation through inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. Furthermore, Chi3l1 knockdown hUC-MSCs exhibited impaired therapeutic efficacy in aGvHD mice with an increased inflammatory response by promoting Th17 cell differentiation, including an increase in IL-17A in the spleen, intestine, and serum. Collectively, these results reveal a new immunosuppressive molecule, Chi3l1, in hUC-MSCs in the treatment of aGvHD that regulates Th17 differentiation and inhibits STAT3 activation. These novel insights into the mechanisms of hUC-MSC immunoregulation may lead to the consistent production of hUC-MSCs with strong immunosuppressive functions and thus improved clinical utility.

Mesenchymal (Stem) Stromal Cells Based as New Therapeutic Alternative in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Basic Mechanisms, Experimental and Clinical Evidence, and Challenges

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are an example of chronic diseases affecting 40% of the population, which involved tissue damage and an inflammatory process not satisfactorily controlled with current therapies. Data suggest that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) may be a therapeutic option for these processes, and especially for IBD, due to their multifactorial approaches such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic, anti-fibrotic, regenerative, angiogenic, anti-tumor, or anti-microbial. However, MSC therapy is associated with important limitations as safety issues, handling difficulties for therapeutic purposes, and high economic cost. MSC-derived secretome products (conditioned medium or extracellular vesicles) are therefore a therapeutic option in IBD as they exhibit similar effects to their parent cells and avoid the issues of cell therapy. In this review, we proposed further studies to choose the ideal tissue source of MSC to treat IBD, the implementation of new standardized production strategies, quality controls and the integration of other technologies, such as hydrogels, which may improve the therapeutic effects of derived-MSC secretome products in IBD.