Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Chronic Salpingitis by Modulating Macrophage-Associated Inflammatory Factors

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely studied because of their established anti-inflammatory properties. During chronic salpingitis (CS), infiltrated macrophages have vital roles in inflammation and tissue remodeling. Methods: We employed the type of MSCs, human umbilical cord (huc) MSCs in an experimental CS model and therapeutic efficacy was assessed. hucMSCs exerted this therapeutic effect by regulating macrophage function. To verify the regulatory effects of hucMSCs on the macrophage, macrophage line RAW264.7 markers were analyzed under LPS stimulation with or without co-culturing with hucMSCs for 12h and 24h. In addition, flow cytometry analysis was applied to reveal the interaction of co-culture. For animal studies, CS was induced by the MoPn strain Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), hucMSCs were intravaginally injected in the CS, and we analyzed the infiltrated macrophage by immunofluorescence. Results: We found the markers IL-10 was markedly increased and IL-1β, caspase-1 was notably downregulated after co-culturing with hucMSCs by RT-PCR. hucMSCs promote macrophage line RAW264.7 apoptosis. We also found that hucMSCs treatment can alleviate CS by decreasing the mRNA expression of IL-1β, caspase-1 and MCP-1 in the tubal tissue by RT-PCR and decreasing the protein expression of IL-1β, caspase-1 and TGF-β by western blotting. Conclusion: These results suggest that macrophage function may be related to the immune-modulating characteristics of hucMSCs that contribute to CS.