Review Article

Management of Fibrosis: The Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Breakthrough

Table 9

Summary of various in vitro studies using MSC-conditioned medium or MSCs cocultured with cells of interest.

ReferencesCulture conditionsCell typeMSC sourceOutcome

[44]MSC-conditioned mediumCardiac fibroblastsBM(i) Reduced collagens I and III deposit
(ii) Decreased viability
(iii) Decreased expression of α-SMA
(iv) Increased of MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity
(v) Increased expression of MT1-MMP
(vi) Decreased expression of TIMP-2
MMP-2 −/− MSC-conditioned medium:
(i) No change in collagen concentration
Incubation with anti-HGF antibody:
(i) Reduced MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity
(ii) Decreased expression of MMP-2
(iii) Increased expression of TIMP-2

[64]MSC-conditioned mediumTGF-β1-treated HK2 BM(i) Decreased concentration of α-SMA
(ii) Increased concentration of E-cadherin

[51]Coculture: MSCsFibrotic hepatocytesBM Increased secretion of FGF2

[73]Coculture: MSCs in TranswellHPMCsBM(i) Decreased expression of TGF-β1
(ii) Decreased expression of fibronectin
(iii) Decreased concentration of pSmad2
(iv) Decreased expression of α-SMA

[77]Coculture LPS + IFN-γ-treated MSCsActivated macrophagesBM(i) Reduced concentration of TNF-α and IL-12
(ii) Reduced concentration of NO

[62]MSCs in Transwell
Pretreatment of one or both cell types with HSA
PTECsBM(i) Reduced expression of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and CCL-5
(ii) Inhibition of NF-κB nuclear translocation
(iii) Reduced EMT
(iv) Increased expression and concentration of HGF and TSG-6 by MSCs exposed to HSA
(v) Recombinant HGF or TSG-6 partially reproduces MSCs'effects

Influence of culture conditions on the outcome. Outcomes are expressed compared to control groups (i.e., groups treated without the use of MSC treatment) unless stated otherwise (α-SMA: α-smooth muscle actin; BM: bone marrow; CCL: chemokine ligand; EMT: epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; FGF: fibroblast growth factor; HGF: hepatocyte growth factor; HK2: human kidney 2; HPMC: human peritoneal mesothelial cells; HAS: human serum albumin; HGF: hepatocyte growth factor; IFN-γ: interferon-γ; IL: interleukin; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; MCP: monocyte chemoattractant protein; MMP: matrix metalloproteinase; MSC: mesenchymal stromal cell; NF-κB: nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells; NO: nitric oxide; proximal tubular epithelial cell; pSmad: phosphorylated small mothers against decapentaplegic homolog; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β; TIMP: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α; TSG-6: TNF-stimulated gene 6).