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Aim: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are used to treat it. However, due to antibiotic resistance, alternative treatments are needed. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have become a promising therapeutic tool for sepsis due to their immunomodulatory properties. The limitations of MSC therapy have led to increased attention to cell derivatives such as conditioned medium (CM). This study investigates the immunomodulatory effects of young and old MSC-CM during the inflammatory phase of sepsis., Main Methods: The cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model was used to induce sepsis in mice. The mice were divided into four groups: sham, CLP, CLP treated with young MSC-CM, and CLP treated with old MSC-CM. The CM was injected intraperitoneally at 2-, 12-, and 24-hours post-surgery. After 72 h, blood was collected and white blood cells (WBCs) were counted. In addition, serum and tissue were isolated, and the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) in serum, bacterial load in the spleen, concentration of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and histopathology of liver and lung were investigated., Key Findings: MSC-CM decreased serum AST and ALT levels, bacterial load in the spleen, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum. In addition, tissue damage was reduced, and the survival rate and WBC count increased. There was no significant difference between the young and old MSC-CM., Significance: MSC-CM effectively reduced inflammation-induced tissue damage in the liver and lungs during sepsis. Although young MSC-CM had better immunomodulatory effects than old MSC-CM, the difference was not significant., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A growing body of evidence suggests the existence of abnormalities in the immune system of schizophrenic patients. The current study examined serum levels of interleukin (IL) -1β, IL-6, IL-2,interferon(IFN) -γ, and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α in schizophrenic patients before and after treatment with risperidone and correlated levels of these cytokines with symptomatology. The study group consisted of 24 schizophrenic patients as defined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria and 24 healthy controls. Serum cytokine levels were examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Schizophrenic symptomatology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) questionnaire. The serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly higher in participants before treatment compared with the healthy controls and after treatment (p<0.001). IFN-γ and IL-2 levels were significantly lower in participants after treatment compared with before treatment and the healthy controls (p<0.001). Except for IL-6 (p<0.05), there was no significant difference in the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β between the patients receiving treatment and the healthy subjects. Moreover, there was no significant difference in levels of IFN-γ and IL-2 between patients before treatment and the healthy subjects. There were no significant correlations between the concentration of cytokines studied and the PANSS. Positive intercorrelations between the production of IFN-γ and IL-2 were detected for sums of all groups(r=0.33, p=0.005). Clinical improvement of treated patients was associated with a reduction in the studied cytokines. It seems that changes in the cytokines level may play a significant role in the psychopathology of these patients.

Objectives: Physical exercise decreases the incidence of breast cancer and also improves survival in breast cancer patients. However, the mechanistic basis of these protective effects of exercise is not well known. Changes in tumor cytokines, such as oncostatin-M (OSM), have been associated with modulation of antitumor immune responses in breast cancer. Exercise and antioxidants such as selenium affect both antitumor immune responses as well as tumor cytokine expression. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of aerobic exercise training (AET) and selenium nanoparticle (SeNP) administration on T-helper 1 and 2 and tumor tissue cytokines in mice bearing the 4 T1 mammary carcinoma., Methods: We examined the effects of 6 wk of AET and SeNP administration (100 μg three times/wk) on tumor size, concentration of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4 and OSM in tumor tissue and INF-γ and IL-4 in splenocytes of 64 mice bearing the 4 T1 mammary carcinoma., Results: AET increased OSM levels in tumor tissue. Moreover, AET increased levels of TNF-α in tumor tissue, whereas SeNP supplementation decreased IL-4 levels tumor tissue. Also, the combination of AET and SeNP administration decreased tumor volume and increased T-helper 1 cytokines in the splenocytes of tumor-bearing mice., Conclusion: These findings suggest that the combination of AET and SeNP supplementation effects antitumor immune responses in splenocytes, whereas AET induced antitumor cytokines, such as OSM and TNF-α in tumor tissue., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells (Efferocytosis) could affect the polarization of macrophages and promote M2 anti-inflammatory and regulatory phenotype and function. Here we tested the hypothesis that efferocytosis of apoptotic Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs) promotes macrophage M2 polarization. In this study, Macrophages were incubated with apoptotic MSCs and after 48 h interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-alpha (TNFα), and nitric oxide (NO) production were measured. Furthermore, phagocytosis ability and arginase activity were analyzed. The results showed that apoptotic MSCs could reduce TNFα and NO production, and increase IL-10 levels. Moreover, arginase activity and phagocytosis ability were also increased in tested macrophages compared to controls. In Conclusion efferocytosis of AD-MSCs can alter the macrophages phenotype toward regulatory and anti-inflammatory phenotype., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used for cell-based therapies because of their immunomodulatory properties. The immunomodulatory properties of adipogenic (AD) and osteogenic (OS) differentiated adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) isolated from BALB/c, C57BL/6, and DBA mice were compared. Splenocytes proliferation was suppressed in the presence of AD-MSCs conditioned media in all mice. After OS differentiation, BALB/c AD-MSCs produced higher levels of TGF-β and IL-17 and lower levels of NO than AD-MSCs isolated from C57BL/6 and DBA mice. In addition, OS differentiated AD-MSCs isolated from DBA mice produced lower levels of IL-10 than AD-MSCs isolated from C57BL/6 and DBA mice. After in vitro AD and OD differentiation, AD-MSCs isolated from each mouse produced higher levels of NO and IDO than undifferentiated cells. Additionally, AD-MSCs isolated from C57BL/6 and DBA mice produced higher levels of NO than AD-MSCs isolated from BALB/c mice. Adipose tissue-derived MSCs thus retain their immunomodulatory properties after in vitro OS and AD differentiation in a strain-dependent manner.