IFN-γ stimulation of dental follicle mesenchymal stem cells modulates immune response of CD4+ T lymphocytes in Der p1+ asthmatic patients in vitro (original) (raw)

Background: House dust mite (Dermataphagoides pteronyssinus) is a widespread risk factor in the development of asthma. CD4 + T lymphocytes have an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma by polarizing to Th2 cells. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the immunoregulatory effects of dental follicle mesenchymal stem cells with and without IFN-␥ stimulation on peripheral blood mononuclear cells of house dust mite sensitive asthmatic patients, and compared those with Dexamethasone as a systemic steroid. Material and methods: PBMC of asthmatic patients and healthy individuals separately cultured with or without DF-MSCs in the presence and absence of IFN-␥ or Der p1 or Dexamethasone for 72 h. CD4 + T proliferation, cell viability, CD4 + CD25 + FoxP3 + Treg cell frequency and cytokine profiles of PBMC were evaluated via flow cytometry. Results: DF-MSCs suppressed proliferation of CD4 + T lymphocytes (p CDmix < 0.01, p Derp1 < 0.01, p IFN < 0.005) by increasing the number of FoxP3 expressing CD4 + CD25 + T regulatory cells (p CDmix < 0.005, p Derp1 < 0.01, p IFN < 0.001) and suppressed lymphocyte apoptosis (p CDmix < 0.05, p Derp1 < 0.05, p IFN < 0.05), while Dexamethasone increased the apoptosis and decreased Treg cell frequency in asthmatic patients. IFN-␥ stimulation increased the suppressive effect of DF-MSCs and also enhanced the frequency of FoxP3 expressing CD4 + CD25 + T regulatory cells. The cytokine levels were regulated by DF-MSCs by reducing IL-4 cytokine levels (p CDmix < 0.01, p Derp1 < 0.05, p IFN < 0.05) and upregulating IFN-␥ levels (p CDmix < 0.01, p Derp1 < 0.05, p IFN < 0.005) in asthmatic patients.