@article{nokey,
title = {Therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis},
author = {Yanying Liu and Rong Mu and Shiyao Wang and Long and Xia Liu},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186%2Far3187},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-11-16},
urldate = {2010-11-16},
abstract = {Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic disease that primarily attacks synovial joints, leading to articular destruction and functional disability. RA imparts a massive burden on health services worldwide. Efforts to discover new target therapies have achieved considerable success. For instance, TNF-α inhibitors and B-cell-depleting therapies have benefited many RA patients [1,2]. However, these approaches are expensive and none of the currently widely used biological agents reaches longterm drug-free remission [3,4]. Therefore, it is important to develop new and more effective therapy for RA.
In RA, proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and IL-17, play dominant pathological roles. Aberrant T help cells (Th) 17 and Th1 responses have been linked to pathogenesis of RA [5-7]. Furthermore, evidence is accumulating that a defect in number or function of regular T cells (Tregs) is important in the immune imbalance that culminates in RA [8,9]. The fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) are resident cells of synovial joints, involved in pannus formation, and are key players in the destruction of cartilage and bone in RA joint [10]. The ability of FLSs to stimulate both inflammation and tissue damage suggests that this cell type may be another critical target for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis [11].
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are cells of stromal origin that can exert profound immunosuppression by modulating T and B cell proliferation and differentiation, dendritic cell maturation and NK activity. These immunoregulatory properties encouraged a possible use of these cells to modulate autoimmune responses and in the treatment of autoimmue diseases [12,13]. To date, the experience of MSCs in the treatment of RA is limited to a few cases, with controversial results from preclinical models [14-18]. As of yet, the most common source of MSCs has been bone marrow. However, aspirating bone marrow is an invasive procedure. In addition, the number and the differentiating potential of bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSCs) decrease with age [19,20]. In contrast, the umbilical cord is a postnatal organ discarded after birth. The collection of umbilical cord MSCs (UC-MSCs) does not require any invasive procedure. In addition to the well-documented self-renewal and multipotent differentiation properties, UC-MSCs possess immunoregulatory capacities that have been permissive to allogeneic transplantation [21]. Given these characteristics, particularly the plasticity and developmental flexibility, the UC-MSCs are now considered an alternative source of stem cells and deserve to be examined in long-term clinical trials [22]. However, very little is known about UC-MSCs, and of note, there has been no report about UC-MSCs in the treatment of RA.
In this study, we reported our findings of the suppressive effect of UC-MSCs on the proliferation, invasive behavior and inflammatory responses of FLSs from RA patients. We also demonstrated that UC-MSCs could inhibit activation of T cells and induced Tregs expression in RA. More importantly, in mice, systemic infusion of UC-MSCs significantly reduced the severity of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). In addition, the possible mechanism(s) underlying the UC-MSCs-mediated inhibitory effect were explored.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}