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Updated: Jun 4, 2025
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Regulation of Macrophage Phagocytosis; Quantitation and Imaging
Published on: July 16, 2021
Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells preferentially modulate macrophages to alleviate pulmonary fibrosis
1State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciencese, Institute of Precision Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Background:
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a type of interstitial lung disease characterized by chronic inflammation due to persistent lung damage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), including those derived from the umbilical cord (UCMSCs) and placenta (PLMSCs), have been utilized in clinical trials for IPF treatment. However, the varying therapeutic effectiveness between these two MSC types remains unclear.
Methods:
In this study, we examined the therapeutic differences between UCMSCs and PLMSCs in treating lung damage using a bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary injury mouse model.
Results:
We showed that UCMSCs had a superior therapeutic impact on lung damage compared to PLMSCs. Upon cytokine stimulation, UCMSCs expressed higher levels of inflammation-related genes and more effectively directed macrophage polarization towards the M2 phenotype than PLMSCs, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, UCMSCs showed a preference for expressing CC motif ligation 2 (CCL2) and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1) compared to PLMSCs. The expression of secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2), and CCAAT enhancer binding protein beta (Cebpb) in macrophages from mice with the disease treated with UCMSCs was significantly reduced compared to those treated with PLMSCs.
Conclusions:
Therefore, UCMSCs demonstrated superior anti-fibrotic abilities in treating lung damage, potentially through inducing a more robust M2 polarization of macrophages than PLMSCs.
Insights
Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) show better results than placenta mesenchymal stem cells (PLMSCs) for treating lung damage. UCMSCs promote M2 macrophage polarization, offering superior anti-fibrotic effects in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis models.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Immunology
- Pulmonary Medicine
Background:
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease.
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are explored for IPF treatment.
- Differences in therapeutic efficacy between umbilical cord (UCMSCs) and placenta (PLMSCs) derived MSCs are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the therapeutic effects of UCMSCs and PLMSCs in a mouse model of lung injury.
- To investigate the mechanisms underlying the differential therapeutic potential of UCMSCs and PLMSCs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary injury mouse model.
- Assessed therapeutic differences between UCMSCs and PLMSCs in vitro and in vivo.
- Analyzed gene expression related to inflammation and macrophage polarization.
Main Results:
- UCMSCs demonstrated superior therapeutic effects on lung damage compared to PLMSCs.
- UCMSCs induced higher levels of inflammation-related genes and M2 macrophage polarization.
- UCMSCs showed differential expression of chemokines (CCL2, CXCL1) and affected macrophage-related genes (SPP1, Trem2, Cebpb).
Conclusions:
- UCMSCs possess superior anti-fibrotic properties for treating lung damage.
- The enhanced efficacy of UCMSCs may be attributed to their ability to induce more robust M2 macrophage polarization compared to PLMSCs.
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