Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells alleviate liver fibrosis in rats

Figure 6 Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells transfusion promotes the production of IL-4 and IL-10 in vivo and in vitro. Serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels were detected by ELISA. IL-4 and IL-10 levels declined significantly after DMN treatment, and this effect was blocked by umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) transfusion. Serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels were elevated significantly in DMN rats transfused with UC-MSCs compared with rats treated with DMN alone (A and B, ^aP < 0.01 compared with the control group; ^cP < 0.01 compared with the DMN + vehicle group). In vitro, we co-cultured UC-MSCs with Kupffer cells (KCs) isolated from DMN rats, and cell culture supernatants were prepared for ELISA: IL-4 and IL-10 levels in KC plus UC-MSCs were, respectively, more than 3- and 4-fold higher than the values obtained for KC cultured alone (C). The consistent results from in vivo and in vitro experiments indicated that UC-MSCs promote IL-4 and IL-10 production in KCs, which resulted in subsequent KC polarization.