Department of Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
J Surg Res. 2013 May 1;181(1):20-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2012.05.040. Epub 2012 May 29.
Wound healing is impaired in the aged. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can exert beneficial effects in wounds; however, promoting healing in the challenging setting of aged skin may require additional potency. MSCs can enhance the production of pro-regenerative cytokines and growth factors when activated with interferon gamma. We hypothesized that the increased potency of activated MSC could be used to facilitate wound healing in the aged mice.
Young and old C57BL6 mice underwent incisional wounds and were treated with naive MSCs, activated MSCs, or vehicle to examine MSC effects on tensile strength in the aged skin. To test whether the benefits of MSC treatment could be attributed to the participation of host macrophages, liposomal clodronate was used to deplete host macrophages.
In older mice, tensile strength of healing wounds was significantly lower than that in younger mice. Older mice treated with activated MSCs showed significant increases in tensile strength restoring the strength to that observed in younger mice. Macrophage depletion abrogated the beneficial effect of MSC.
Activated MSCs restored wound tensile strength in the aged mice, and this effect was dependent on host macrophage activity. These data provide encouraging support for the development of activated MSC therapies for enhanced tissue regeneration, especially for older population groups.
伤口愈合在老年人中受损。间充质干细胞（MSCs）在伤口中能发挥有益作用；然而，在具有挑战性的老年皮肤环境中促进愈合可能需要额外的效力。当用干扰素γ激活时，MSCs 可以增强促再生细胞因子和生长因子的产生。我们假设激活的 MSC 的增强效力可用于促进老年小鼠的伤口愈合。
年轻和老年 C57BL6 小鼠接受切口伤口，并接受未激活的 MSC、激活的 MSC 或载体治疗，以检查 MSC 对老年皮肤伤口愈合时的拉伸强度的影响。为了测试 MSC 治疗的益处是否归因于宿主巨噬细胞的参与，使用脂质体氯膦酸盐耗尽宿主巨噬细胞。
在老年小鼠中，愈合伤口的拉伸强度明显低于年轻小鼠。用激活的 MSC 治疗的老年小鼠的拉伸强度显著增加，恢复到年轻小鼠观察到的强度。巨噬细胞耗竭消除了 MSC 的有益作用。
激活的 MSC 恢复了老年小鼠的伤口拉伸强度，这种作用依赖于宿主巨噬细胞的活性。这些数据为开发用于增强组织再生的激活 MSC 疗法提供了令人鼓舞的支持，特别是对于老年人群体。
