Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. May 15, 2024; 16(5): 2113-2122
Published online May 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i5.2113
Immunomodulation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in colorectal cancer patients with COVID-19
Jun-Feng Wang, Xiao-Xia Yang, Jian Zhang, Yan Zheng, Fu-Qing Zhang, Xiao-Feng Shi, Yu-Liang Wang
Jun-Feng Wang, Department of Colorectal Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China
Xiao-Xia Yang, Department of Neurology, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China
Jian Zhang, Prosthodontics Studio, Tianjin Stomatological Hospital, Tianjin 300041, China
Yan Zheng, Fu-Qing Zhang, Yu-Liang Wang, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Institute of Urology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, China
Xiao-Feng Shi, Department of Emergency, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China
Co-first authors: Jun-Feng Wang and Xiao-Xia Yang.
Co-corresponding authors: Xiao-Feng Shi and Yu-Liang Wang.
Author contributions: Wang JF, Yang XX, Zhang J, Zheng Y, and Wang YL performed the experiments; Wang JF, Yang XX, and Wang YL acquired and analyzed the data; Wang JF, Shi XF, and Wang YL interpreted the data; All authors approved the final version of the article. Wang YL and Shi XF conceived and designed the project and have played pivotal and indispensable roles in the experimental design, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation as co-corresponding authors; Zhang FQ drafted the manuscript; Wang YL wrote the manuscript, conceptualized, designed, and supervised the entire project process; conducted the literature research, revised the manuscript, and handled its submission; Shi XF made significant contributions by conducting data re-analysis and re-interpretation.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81470982.
Institutional review board statement: The institutional review board of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital approved the study protocol. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all patients.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed supporting conclusions are included in the current manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Liang Wang, MD, PhD, Director, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Tianjin Institute of Urology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, No. 22 Pingjiang Road, Hexi Distinct, Tianjin 300211, China. wang_yu_l@163.com
Received: January 2, 2024
Peer-review started: January 2, 2024
First decision: January 10, 2024
Revised: January 19, 2024
Accepted: March 7, 2024
Article in press: March 7, 2024
Published online: May 15, 2024
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Mesenchymal stem cells have emerged as viable and ideal therapeutic agents demonstrating efficacy in immunomodulation, antiviral activity, and tissue regeneration/repair after injury, as evidenced by preclinical studies and clinical trials. The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, fueled by the highly infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has prompted the exploration of potential treatments. Accumulating evidence supports the effectiveness of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) as an effective therapeutic approach for managing COVID-19. However, the underlying immunomodulatory effects on the mRNA expression of Th cell-related transcription factors (TFs) as well as cytokine release in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) need to be elucidated further.

Research motivation

This study investigated the effect of ADSC therapy on the mRNA expression of TFs and cytokine release in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with severe COVID-19 (CRC+ patients).

Research objectives

This study investigated the immunomodulatory effect of ADSCs in CRC+ patients.

Research methods

PBMCs from CRC+ patients (PBMCs-C+) and age-matched CRC patients (PBMCs-C) were stimulated and cultured in the presence/absence of ADSC. The mRNA levels of T-box TF TBX21 (T-bet), GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3), RAR-related orphan receptor C (RORC), and forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) in the PBMCs were determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; the culture supernatants were examined to measure the levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-17A, and transforming growth factor beta one (TGF-β1) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Research results

Compared with the PBMCs-C group, the mRNA levels of TFs (T-bet and RORC) and the release of cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-17A) were higher in the PBMCs-C+group. Additionally, a significant decrease in FoxP3 mRNA and TGF-β1 Levels, coupled with an increase in T-bet/GATA-3, RORC/FoxP3, IFN-γ/IL-4, and IL-17A/TGF-β1 ratios were observed in the PBMCs-C+group. Further analysis revealed that ADSC therapy significantly induced functional regulatory T cell (Treg) subsets, as evidenced by an increase in the levels of FoxP3 mRNA and TGF-β1, and a decrease in the mRNA levels of TFs (T-bet and RORC), release of cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-17A), and T-bet/GATA-3, RORC/FoxP3, IFN-γ/IL-4, and IL-17A/TGF-β1 ratios, compared with the PBMCs-C+alone group.

Research conclusions

ADSCs contributed to the immunosuppressive effects on PBMCs-C+.

Research perspectives

Our study demonstrated that ADSC intervention, as a living immunomodulatory agent, is a promising therapeutic approach to create an anti-inflammatory environment by mitigating excessive inflammatory reactions and promoting Treg-biased tolerance immune responses. Thus, ADSCs are expected to be a viable alternative treatment option for preventing severe COVID-19 progression.