Ma Weijiang, Kong Jing, Zhang Mengqin, Wu Hanxin, Wan Shanshan, Liu Xin, Li Bingxue, Dong Yan, Zhong Lei, Ma Weijie, Gao Li, Wu Xinya, Peng Li, Luo Suyi, Ji Zhenhua, Fan Yuxin, Chen Jingjing, Liu Meixiao, Zhu Liangyu, Huang Xun, Yang Rui, Song Jieqin, Bao Fukai, Liu Aihua
Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650101, Yunnan, China.
Stem Cells Int. 2025 Jul 28;2025:4363386. doi: 10.1155/sci/4363386. eCollection 2025.
Lyme disease (LD), a zoonotic infectious disease caused by (), can affect various organs, including the skin, heart, nervous system, and joints. Lyme arthritis (LA) is the most common and severe late-stage presentation of LD, often presenting with intermittent joint swelling and pain. Although antibiotics are effective in most patients with LA, some patients may continue to experience arthritis symptoms for months or years after standard treatment, which poses a serious threat to their quality of life. Therefore, more effective treatments are urgently needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on LD in Kunming (KM) mice. A bilateral hind limb LA model was established by infecting KM mice with . Low and high doses of hUC-MSCs (1 × 10 and 2 × 10 cells, respectively) were injected (one time every 2 days) into the right tibiotalar joints of the mice, whereas the left tibiotalar joints were pricked without injecting cells (sham operation). The therapeutic effects of the hUC-MSCs were evaluated through morphological examination, measurement of hind limb diameter, imaging assessment (X-ray), and measurement of inflammatory factor levels. Spirochete burden was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Morphological, hind limb diameter, and imaging analyses showed that the low and high hUC-MSC doses significantly reduced bilateral hind limb swelling in the LA mice. Histological (hematoxylin and eosin staining) examination of tibiotalar joint sections showed that when compared with the control group, inflammatory cell infiltration, and bilateral hind limb tissue damage were reduced in the two treatment groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays revealed that the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in lysates from the bilateral tibiotarsal joints were significantly lower in the two treatment groups than in the control group. QPCR results showed that hUC-MSCs treatment had no significant effect on the spirochete load in the tibiotarsal joint. Our findings indicate that hUC-MSCs can alleviate inflammation in the KM mouse model of LA without increasing burden., which is expected to be a new potential method for the treatment of LA.
莱姆病（LD）是一种由（）引起的人畜共患传染病，可影响包括皮肤、心脏、神经系统和关节在内的各种器官。莱姆关节炎（LA）是莱姆病最常见且最严重的晚期表现，常表现为间歇性关节肿胀和疼痛。尽管抗生素对大多数莱姆关节炎患者有效，但一些患者在标准治疗后数月或数年可能仍会出现关节炎症状，这对他们的生活质量构成严重威胁。因此，迫切需要更有效的治疗方法。本研究的目的是评估人脐带间充质干细胞（hUC-MSCs）对昆明（KM）小鼠莱姆病的治疗效果。通过用（）感染KM小鼠建立双侧后肢莱姆关节炎模型。将低剂量和高剂量的hUC-MSCs（分别为1×10和2×10个细胞）（每2天注射一次）注射到小鼠的右胫距关节，而左胫距关节进行针刺但不注射细胞（假手术）。通过形态学检查、后肢直径测量、影像学评估（X射线）和炎症因子水平测量来评估hUC-MSCs的治疗效果。通过定量实时聚合酶链反应（qPCR）评估螺旋体负荷。形态学、后肢直径和影像学分析表明，低剂量和高剂量的hUC-MSCs显著减轻了莱姆关节炎小鼠双侧后肢的肿胀。对胫距关节切片进行组织学（苏木精和伊红染色）检查显示，与对照组相比，两个治疗组的炎症细胞浸润和双侧后肢组织损伤均减少。酶联免疫吸附测定显示，两个治疗组双侧胫跗关节裂解物中IL-6和TNF-α的水平明显低于对照组。qPCR结果显示，hUC-MSCs治疗对胫距关节中的螺旋体负荷没有显著影响。我们的研究结果表明，hUC-MSCs可以减轻莱姆关节炎昆明小鼠模型中的炎症，而不会增加（）负荷，有望成为治疗莱姆关节炎的一种新的潜在方法。
