Comparison of bone marrow tissue- and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of sepsis in a murine model of lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been reported to regulate the systemic inflammatory response and sepsis-induced immunologic injury pre-clinically. However, whether MSCs from different sources elicit identical effects remains to be elucidated. The present study compared the effect of bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) and adipose tissue-derived MSCs (ADMSCs) in a murine model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis. SPF BALB/c mice were induced with an injection of LPS (10 mg/kg; 1 mg/ml) via the tail vein. To compare the effect of MSCs on the septic mice, either saline, BMSCs or ADMSCs were injected via the tail vein 5 min following the administration of LPS. The survival rates and body temperatures of the mice were observed regularly up to 48 h. The serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor-, interleukin (IL) -6 and IL-8, anti-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10, and biochemical markers, including lactate, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase and aspertate amino-transferase, were analyzed at 6 h. The BMSCs and ADMSCs significantly reduced mortality rates, body-temperature fluctuations, serum levels of biochemical markers and the majority of cytokines. However, the levels of IL-8 in the BMSC and ADMSC groups were increased and decreased, respectively. These findings suggested that BMSCs and ADMSCs ameliorated sepsis-associated organ injury and mortality, and had a similar regulatory effect on pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines despite the different MSC sources. Therefore, BMSCs and ADMSCs may serve as novel treatment modalities for sepsis.