Immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells: The link with metabolism

• Published in: Journal of advanced research Vol. 45; pp. 15 - 29
• Main Authors: Li, Hanyue, Dai, Hongwei, Li, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Egypt Elsevier B.V 01.03.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Cytokines; Humans; Immune System Diseases; Immunomodulation; Immunomodulatory properties; Lipids; Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs); Metabolism; Review; Stem Cells; Therapy; Therapy; Metabolism; Immunomodulatory properties; Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs)
• ISSN: 2090-1232; 2090-1224; 2090-1224
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2022.05.012

[Display omitted] •Metabolism plays critical roles in the MSCs immunomodulatory properties.•Manipulation the metabolism in MSCs can enhance their therapeutic effects.•MSCs can affect the immune cells metabolism and determine their behaviors.•The more direct evidence of MSCs immunometabolism is needed to be uncovered.•The mechanism of metabolism influencing immunomodulatory properties in MSCs is unclear. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising stem cells for the treatment of multiple inflammatory and immune diseases due to their easy acquisition and potent immuno-regulatory capacities. These immune functions mainly depend on the MSC secretion of soluble factors. Recent studies have shown that the metabolism of MSCs plays critical roles in immunomodulation, which not only provides energy and building blocks for macromolecule synthesis but is also involved in the signaling pathway regulation. A thorough understanding of metabolic regulation in MSC immunomodulatory properties can provide new sights to the enhancement of MSC-based therapy. MSC immune regulation can be affected by cellular metabolism (glucose, adenosine triphosphate, lipid and amino acid metabolism), which further mediates MSC therapy efficiency in inflammatory and immune diseases. The enhancement of glycolysis of MSCs, such as signaling molecule activation, inflammatory cytokines priming, or environmental control can promote MSC immune functions and therapeutic potential. Besides glucose metabolism, inflammatory stimuli also alter the lipid molecular profile of MSCs, but the direct link with immunomodulatory properties remains to be further explored. Arginine metabolism, glutamine-glutamate metabolism and tryptophan-kynurenine via indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) metabolism all contribute to the immune regulation of MSCs. In addition to the metabolism dictating the MSC immune functions, MSCs also influence the metabolism of immune cells and thus determine their behaviors. However, more direct evidence of the metabolism in MSC immune abilities as well as the underlying mechanism requires to be uncovered.