Therapeutic effects of Wharton jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells on rat abortion models

The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of Wharton jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC) in a spontaneous-abortion rat model.

An abortion model was established using intravenous injection of bromocriptine. WJ-MSC were isolated and cultured from Wharton jelly of the human umbilical cord. The pathologic changes of placenta decidual tissues were observed after hematoxylin-eosin staining. The embryo absorption rate was counted. The protein and mRNA levels of interleukin (IL)-10, interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-17 in each group were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

After bromocriptine injection, decidual cells degenerated and the connections between them loosened. Furthermore, some of the decidual cells were necrotic and the nuclei had disappeared. However, the transplantation of a large population of WJ-MSC prevented these damages from occurring. The changes of levels of IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-17 in serum and placenta decidual tissues induced by bromocriptine were well restored by a high, but not a low, dose of WJ-MSC engraft.

WJ-MSC can ameliorate early pregnancy loss. The mechanism may be related to its upregulation of IL-10 and downregulation of IFN-γ and IL-17.