Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells as well as their released exosomes suppress proliferation of activated PBMCs in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system (CNS) degenerative disorder which is caused by a targeted autoimmune-mediated attack on myelin proteins. Previously, mesenchymal stem cells were considered as a novel and successful treatment of MS. One of the underlying mechanisms behind their immunomodulatory function is the release of extracellular vesicles, particularly exosomes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the suppressive efficacy of MSCs and their exosomes on the proliferation of peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PBMC) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and healthy subjects. To do, mesenchymal stem cells were derived from human umbilical cord tissues and used for exosome isolation through ultracentrifugation. Suppressive function of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes was examined in a coculture with CFSE-labelled PBMCs in vitro. PBMC proliferation of the patients and healthy individuals was measured using flow cytometry. We first demonstrated that proliferation of PBMCs decreased in the presence of MSCs and suppression was more efficient by MSC-derived exosomes, with a minimum alloreaction rate. However, suppression capacity of MSCs and their exosomes significantly decreased during extensive sub-culturing. The present study showed that MSC-derived exosomes as an effective cell-free therapy could prevent proliferation of PBMCs. However, further evaluations are need to move towards a functional approach that can be translated to the clinic.