AUTHOR=Cruz-Barrera Mónica , Flórez-Zapata Nathalia , Lemus-Diaz Nicolás , Medina Carlos , Galindo Cristian-Camilo , González-Acero Lorena-Xiomara , Correa Luz , Camacho Bernardo , Gruber Jens , Salguero Gustavo 

TITLE=Integrated Analysis of Transcriptome and Secretome From Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Reveal New Mechanisms for the Modulation of Inflammation and Immune Activation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.575488

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.575488

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been used in over 800 clinical trials with encouraging results in the field of transplant medicine and chronic inflammatory diseases. Today, Umbilical Cord (UC)-derived MSC are the second leading source used for clinical purposes, mainly due to its easy access and superior immune-modulatory effects. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of immune-suppressive activities have not been fully understood, research over the last decade strongly suggests that MSC-mediated benefits are closely related to the activation of secretome networks. Nevertheless, recent findings also point to cytokine-independent mechanisms as key players of MSC-mediated immune modulation. Here, we set up a robust in vitro immune assay using phytohemagglutinin- or anti-CD3/CD28-treated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in cell-to-cell interaction or in cell-contact independent format with UC-MSC and conducted integrated transcriptome and secretome analyses to dissect molecular pathways driving UC-MSC-mediated immune modulation. Under inflammatory stimuli, multiparametric analyses of the secretome led us to identify cytokine/chemokine expression patterns associated with the induction of MSC-reprogrammed macrophages and T cell subsets ultimately leading to immune suppression. UC-MSC transcriptome analysis under inflammatory challenge allowed the identification of 47 differentially expressed genes, including chemokines, anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules found also in UC-MSC-immunosupressive secretomes, including novel candidates such as CD131, CD366, and soluble IL-2R. This study enabled us to track functionally activated UC-MSC during immune suppression and opened an opportunity to explore new pathways involved in immunity control by UC-MSC. We propose that identified immunomodulatory molecules and pathways could potentially be translated into clinical settings in order to improve UC-MSC-therapy quality and efficacy.