Protective effect of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells against severe acute pancreatitis in rats

Objective To study the protective effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) against severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in rats. Methods A total of 135 Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into Sham group, SAP group and SAP+ucMSCs group (45 each). SAP+ucMSCs group: Severe acute pancreatitis was induced by injecting 5% sodium taurocholate (0.1ml/100g) into the common biliopancreatic duct and then CM-DiI-labeled ucMSCs at 1×107cells/kg were injected via the tail vein. All the rats were sacrificed 12, 24 and 72 hours after SAP. The 72h death rate was counted. Pathological changes in the pancrease were detected by HE staining and pathological score was graded. ucMSCs colonization was observed by fluorescence microscopy. The serum levels of amylase, lipase, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4 and IL-10 were determined by ELISA. Results ucMSCs colonize the injured area of pancreatic tissue, the 72h death rate was reduced, and the serum amylase and lipase were also reduced significantly. Moreover, ucMSCs significantly reduced the pathological score of the pancrea and the level of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β), but the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines were increased (IL-4 and IL-10). Conclusion Transplantation of ucMSCs can reduce the severity of pancreatic injury and inflammation in SAP rats. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2017.05.03