Therapeutic effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Lesions caused by Leishmania major.

Abstract Introduction Leishmania major (L. major) is a cutaneous leishmaniasis causative agent. So far, chemotherapy has not been totally effective for treatment of the disease. The immunomodulation and tissue repairing capability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), ease of isolation, detection and in-vitro culture, have encouraged the biologists to use MSCs for cell therapy in different infections such as cutaneous leishmaniasis. Materials and Methods 6-8 week BALB/c mice were infected with L. major and divided into four groups and treated with MSCs, Glucantime, Glucantime + MSCs and PBS. The regression of the lesions, potency of macrophages for phagocytosis, proliferation of immune cells against Leishmania soluble antigen, reduction of spleen parasite burden and healing of the lesions were evaluated on days 10, 20 and 30 of treatment. Result The results indicated that the mice intralesionally injected with MSCs showed a significant regression in the lesions produced by L. major by day 30. Proliferation of the splenocytes stimulated with SLA (Soluble Leishmania Antigen) in-vitro in MSC treated mice on day 20 was significantly higher than those of the other groups. The potency of phagocytosis in macrophages of the mice treated with MSCs was significantly higher by day 30 and healing of the lesions in this group of mice showed more progress in histopathological examinations. Spleen parasite burden showed significant reduction in the mice treated with Glucantime + MSCs by day 30. Conclusion The results showed that using MSCs in treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. major is a promising approach for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.