阳明大学与台北荣总发表合作研究的成果，利用老鼠模式，发现人类脐带血间叶干细胞(uMSC)能改善因红斑性狼疮引起的肾发炎(Lupus nephritis；LN)，进而延长寿命，这项发现已发表在[细胞移植]期刊。

参与此项研究的阳明大学医学院李光申博士表示，间叶干细胞具有免疫调节的能力，借由活化与不活化特定的T淋巴球，能降低发炎前激素的表现(IFN-r、IL-2)，并增加抗发炎激素的表现(IL-4、IL-10)，整体达到抑制发炎的作用。因此移植人类uMSC于带有狼疮细胞的老鼠身上，观察到肾脏发炎程度减缓、蛋白尿延迟出现与自体抗体(anti-dsDNA)减少的现象。

进一步比较不同年龄的老鼠移植uMSC后成效，发现移植2月大的老鼠效果比6个月大好，意指间叶干细胞治疗红斑性狼疮较适用于年纪轻的病患。另外，研究人员也发现，异体间叶干细胞移植效果比自体移植好，因为红斑性狼疮为自体免疫疾病，异体移植能避免自体抗体的存在。

未来，脐带血间叶干细胞治疗红斑性狼疮将进入人体试验，科学家想探讨配对不相合的异体移植是否也能具有疗效，希望能造福许多红斑性狼疮患者。

Study Of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Stem Cells For Lupus Therapy

 

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mensenchymal stem cells (uMSCs) have been found to offer benefits for treating lupus nephritis (LN) when transplanted into mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE is an autoimmune disease with "myriad immune system aberrations" characterized by diverse clinical conditions, including LN, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for patients with SLE.

The beneficial results were reported in a study by Taiwanese researchers published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation.

According to corresponding author Dr. Oscar K. Lee of the National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, MSCs have been shown to possess immune-modulatory capabilities and can alleviate immune responses by inhibiting inflammation as well as the function of mature and immature immune system T cells. Seeking to explore the therapeutic effects of uMSCs in treating LN, their study transplanted umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells into mice modeled with systemic immune diseases closely resembling SLE in humans.

"We found that uMSC transplantation markedly delayed the deterioration of renal function, reduced certain antibody levels, alleviated changes in renal pathology and the development of proteinuria - the presence of excess protein serum in the urine and a sign of renal damage," said Dr. Lee.

The positive difference in survival rate for mice treated at two months of age compared with mice treated at six months of age, led the researchers to conclude that early uMSC transplantation may be most efficacious. The researchers also deduced that their findings favored the use of allogenic (other-donated) rather than autologous (self-donated) MSCs for SLE treatment, which would make sense with an autoimmune disorder.

"The therapeutic effects demonstrated in this pre-clinical study support further exploration of the possibility of using uMSCs from mismatched donors in LN treatment," concluded Dr. Lee.

Citation:
Chang, J-W.; Hung , S-P.; Wu, H-H.; Wu, W-M.; Yang, A-H.; Tsai, H-L.; Yang, L-Y.; Lee, O. K. Therapeutic Effects of Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation in Experimental Lupus Nephritis. Cell Transplant. 20(2):245-257; 2011.