Study on therapy of experimental autoimmune neuritis by bone marrow stromal cells

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic effect of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) transplantation on experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN) and study the possible mechanism. METHODS: EAN model was established by immunizing Lewis rats with P_0180-199 peptide and complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA). In the therapy group, BMSCs (2×10~6 cells/rat) were marked with fluorochrome PKH26 and injected into the rats’ caudal vein 10 d after immunization. The therapeutic effect of BMSC transplantation on EAN rats was investigated by clinical assessment, immunohistochemical staining, and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: The injected BMSCs could migrate to the demyelinated nerve tissues, and the demyelination and inflammatory infiltration was relieved. The infiltration of CD4~+ and CD8~+ T cells and the sera level of IFN-γ and TNF-α were decreased significantly(P0.05), whereas IL-4 level in the supernatant of cultured lymphocytes was increased (P0.05). CONCLUSION: Certain therapeutic effect of BMSC transplantation on EAN was observed. BMSCs could reverse the disbalance of Th1/Th2 cells by regulating the cytokine expression and could inhibit the activation and proliferation of T cells.