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The autoimmune condition Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a disease wherein lymphocytes mediate the autoimmune damage and destruction of the thyroid gland. There are currently no effective means of treating HT, with the primary strategies of thyroid hormone therapy, surgery, or immunomodulatory therapy being associated with serious risks and side effects. There is thus a clear and urgent need to identify novel treatments for HT. In this study, we utilize female SD rats induced HT to evaluated the ability of transplanted MSCs to regulate Th17/Treg interactions in a rat Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) model system. The results showed that Rats in the HT model group exhibited increased thyroid autoantibody levels consistent with successful model development, whereas these levels were lower in rats treated with MSCs. There were also fewer thyroid lesions and less lymphoid infiltration of the thyroid in MSC-treated rats relative to HT model rats, as well as fewer Th17 cells and more Treg cells - an observation consistent with the cytokine analyses. All of these showed that MSCs can regulate Th17/Treg interactions in a rat Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) model system. It suggested that transplanted MSCs could be a potential immunotherapy strategy for the treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

A healthy lymphatic system is required to return excess interstitial fluid back to the venous circulation. However, up to 49% of breast cancer survivors eventually develop breast cancer-related lymphedema due to lymphatic injuries from lymph node dissections or biopsies performed to treat cancer. While early-stage lymphedema can be ameliorated by manual lymph drainage, no cure exists for late-stage lymphedema when lymph vessels become completely dysfunctional. A viable late-stage treatment is the autotransplantation of functional lymphatic vessels. Here we report on a novel engineered lymphatic flap that may eventually replace the skin flaps used in vascularized lymph vessel transfers. The engineered flap mimics the lymphatic and dermal compartments of the skin by guiding multi-layered tissue organization of mesenchymal stem cells and lymphatic endothelial cells with an aligned decellularized fibroblast matrix. The construct was tested in a novel bilayered wound healing model and implanted into athymic nude rats. The in vitro model demonstrated capillary invasion into the wound gaps and deposition of extracellular matrix fibers, which may guide anastomosis and vascular integration of the graft during wound healing. The construct successfully anastomosed in vivo, forming chimeric vessels of human and rat cells. Overall, our flap replacement has high potential for treating lymphedema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]