| Summary: | Objective To investigate the protective effects of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cell (P-MSC) transplantation against severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in rats. Methods A total of 32 healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group, P-MSC group, SAP and SAP+P-MSCs group (n=8), and in the latter 2 groups, SAP was induced by retrograde injection of 4% sodium taurocholate into the common biliopancreatic duct. P-MSCs (1×106 cells/100 g) were delivered through the tail vein of the rats at 12 and 36 h after the induction of SAP. All the rats were sacrificed 72 h after the first P-MSC infusion. HE staining was used to assess the pancreatic pathologies of the rats after the treatments. The serum levels of the pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators, amylase and lipase were determined by ELISA, and the mRNA expression levels of the inflammatory mediators in the pancreatic tissue were detected using qRT-PCR. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine macrophage infiltration in the pancreatic tissue of the rats. Results Homing of the infused P-MSCs to the injury site was observed in the rats with SAP. Transplantation of P-MSCs significantly ameliorated histopathological injury and lowered pancreatic pathological score of the pancreas, reduced serum levels of amylase, lipase, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (P < 0.05), increased serum levels of IL-10, IL-4 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) (P < 0.05), decreased the expression levels of IL-1β and TNF-α (P < 0.05) and increased the expression of IL-10 and IL-4 in the pancreatic tissue (P < 0.05) of the rats with SAP. In addition, P-MSC transplantation effectively reduced macrophage infiltration in the pancreatic tissue of the rats. Conclusion Transplantation of P-MSCs can effectively alleviate local inflammatory response in the pancreas and systemic inflammatory response in rats with SAP probably by reducing local macrophage and neutrophil infiltration in the pancreas.
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