ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1602994
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Transforming Organ Repair and Tissue RegenerationView all 5 articles
Mesenchymal stem cells enhanced with SeNPs protection against CLP induction associated with liver injury are mediated via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities
Provisionally accepted
Asmaa Abd El Aleem1
Manal Elkhadragy2
Ahmed Esmat Abdel Moneim1*
Sara Hassan Abou Agwa3
Fatma Abou Zahra3Mohga Abdalla1- 1Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt
- 2Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 3Center for Ain Shams Medical Research, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Beni Suef, Egypt
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Sepsis-induced liver injury is a serious issue in critical care. Since antibiotics are insufficiently effective to combat the disease and avoid upcoming organ failure, treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is an alternate strategy for treating liver damage. Thus, our work aimed to boost the therapeutic potential of MSCs by pretreating them with selenium in the form of sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃) and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) in the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) rat model of sepsis. Rats were split into groups that received MSCs alone, MSCs enhanced with Na₂SeO₃ (E1-MSCs), MSCs enhanced with SeNPs (E2-MSCs), antibiotics (Ab), and no therapy (CLP), in addition to the control and sham groups. Within 48 hours of the operation, liver tissues and blood samples were taken. MSC treatment, significantly augmented with selenium compounds, markedly reduced markers of liver injury and signs of oxidative stress (MDA, MPO, NO) while elevating levels of GSH and antioxidant enzymes (GPx, GR, SOD, CAT). Furthermore, the therapies attenuated pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8) and inflammatory pathways (iNOS, MAPK9, NF-κB). Additionally, MSCs and enhanced MSCs improved hepatic tissue by alleviating the immunomodulatory indicators (COX-2, PGE2) and regulating apoptosis by raising (Bcl-2) and minimizing (Cas-3 and Bax).Histopathological analysis showed that MSC therapies, particularly when enhanced, restored the natural architecture of the liver. This study concludes that MSCs enhanced with selenium compounds provide a promising therapeutic approach for liver dysfunction caused by sepsis, possibly through regulating antioxidants, anti-inflammatory processes, immunology, and hepatic tissue regeneration.
Keywords: Sepsis-related liver injury, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Selenium nanoparticles, Inflammation, Immunomodulation, NF-κB
Received: 30 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abd El Aleem, Elkhadragy, Abdel Moneim, Hassan Abou Agwa, Abou Zahra and Abdalla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ahmed Esmat Abdel Moneim, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt
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