Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan.
J Biomed Sci. 2011 Jul 18;18(1):49. doi: 10.1186/1423-0127-18-49.
In recent years, a large number of studies have contributed to our understanding of the immunomodulatory mechanisms used by multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Initially isolated from the bone marrow (BM), MSCs have been found in many tissues but the strong immunomodulatory properties are best studied in BM MSCs. The immunomodulatory effects of BM MSCs are wide, extending to T lymphocytes and dendritic cells, and are therapeutically useful for treatment of immune-related diseases including graft-versus-host disease as well as possibly autoimmune diseases. However, BM MSCs are very rare cells and require an invasive procedure for procurement. Recently, MSCs have also been found in fetal-stage embryo-proper and extra-embryonic tissues, and these human fetal MSCs (F-MSCs) have a higher proliferative profile, and are capable of multilineage differentiation as well as exert strong immunomodulatory effects. As such, these F-MSCs can be viewed as alternative sources of MSCs. We review here the current understanding of the mechanisms behind the immunomodulatory properties of BM MSCs and F-MSCs. An increase in our understanding of MSC suppressor mechanisms will offer insights for prevalent clinical use of these versatile adult stem cells in the near future.
近年来，大量研究有助于我们理解多能间充质干细胞（MSCs）所使用的免疫调节机制。MSCs 最初从骨髓（BM）中分离出来，现已在许多组织中发现，但在 BM MSCs 中研究其最强的免疫调节特性。BM MSCs 的免疫调节作用广泛，延伸至 T 淋巴细胞和树突状细胞，对于治疗包括移植物抗宿主病在内的免疫相关疾病以及可能的自身免疫性疾病具有治疗作用。然而，BM MSCs 是非常罕见的细胞，需要进行侵入性程序才能获得。最近，MSCs 也在胎儿期胚胎组织和胚胎外组织中被发现，这些人胎儿 MSCs（F-MSCs）具有更高的增殖特征，能够进行多谱系分化，并具有强大的免疫调节作用。因此，这些 F-MSCs 可以被视为 MSCs 的替代来源。我们在此回顾了目前对 BM MSCs 和 F-MSCs 免疫调节特性背后机制的理解。增加对 MSC 抑制机制的理解将为这些多功能成体干细胞在不久的将来在临床上的广泛应用提供见解。
