Overexpression of TGFβ1 in murine mesenchymal stem cells improves lung inflammation by impacting the Th17/Treg balance in LPS-induced ARDS mice
Authors: Ming Xue
Xiwen Zhang
Jianxiao Chen
Ling Liu
Haibo Qiu
Yi Yang
Jianfeng Xie
Journal: Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2020)
Discipline: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & GENETICS
Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Mesenchymal stem cells; TGFβ1; Th17/Treg.
Affiliations: Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, 87 Dingjiaqiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China., Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, 87 Dingjiaqiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China. .

Abstract:  Background: T helper 17 cells (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg), as subtypes of CD4+ T cells, play an important role in the inflammatory response of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, there is still a lack of effective methods to regulate the differentiation balance of Th17/Treg. It was proven that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could regulate the differentiation of CD4+ T cells, but the mechanism is still unclear. TGFβ1, a paracrine cytokine of MSCs, could also regulate the differentiation of Th17/Treg but is lowly expressed in MSCs. Therefore, mouse MSCs (mMSCs) overexpressing TGFβ1 were constructed by lentivirus transduction and intratracheally transplanted into LPS-induced ARDS mice in our study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of mMSCs overexpressing TGFβ1 on inflammation and immunoregulation by impacting the Th17/Treg balance in LPS-induced ARDS mice. Methods: mMSCs overexpressing TGFβ1 were constructed using lentiviral vectors. Then, mouse bone-marrow-derived MSCs (mBM-MSC) and mBM-MSC-TGFβ1 (mBM-MSC overexpressing TGFβ1) were transplanted intratracheally into ARDS mice induced by lipopolysaccharide. At 3 and 7 days after transplantation, the mice were sacrificed, and the homing of the mMSCs was assayed by ex vivo optical imaging. The relative numbers of Th17 and Treg in the lungs and spleens of mice were detected by FCM. IL-17A and IL-10 levels in the lungs of mice were analysed by western blot. Permeability and inflammatory cytokines were evaluated by analysing the protein concentration of BALF using ELISA. Histopathology of the lungs was assessed by haematoxylin and eosin staining and lung injury scoring. Alveolar lung fibrosis was assessed by Masson's trichrome staining and Ashcroft scoring. The mortality of ARDS mice was followed until 7 days after transplantation. Results: The transduction efficiencies mediated by the lentiviral vectors ranged from 82.3 to 88.6%. Overexpressing TGFβ1 inhibited the proliferation of mMSCs during days 5-7 (p &lt; 0.05) but had no effect on mMSC differentiation or migration (p &gt; 0.05). Compared to that in the LPS + mBM-MSC-NC group mice, engraftment of mMSCs overexpressing TGFβ1 led to much more differentiation of T cells into Th17 or Treg (p &lt; 0.05), improved permeability of injured lungs (p &lt; 0.05) and ameliorative histopathology of lung tissue in ARDS mice (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, IL-17A content was also decreased while IL-10 content was increased in the LPS + mBM-MSC-TGFβ1 group compared with those in the LPS + mBM-MSC-NC group (p &lt; 0.05). Finally, mMSCs overexpressing TGFβ1 did not aggravate lung fibrosis in ARDS mice (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: MSCs overexpressing TGFβ1 could regulate lung inflammation and attenuate lung injuries by modulating the imbalance of Th17/Treg in the lungs of ARDS mice. 

Retracted: Yes

PubPeer comments:
 Figure 6 appears to have an Actin band reused for 2 different experiments, after resizing. Could the authors please check? I apologize if I am misunderstanding something. *** ![file] , 
 Retracted [1 March 2022] . ------------------------- The Editors-in-Chief have retracted this article. After publication, concerns were raised regarding potential image duplication, specifically: - Several panels in Figs. 1a and 2b have been previously published in [1]. - The same actin western blot bands are presented (rotated 180 degrees) in Figs. 1E and 7D. - Actin western blot bands appear highly similar in Fig. 6A 7d and 6B 3d. Additionally, substantial text overlap was identified with the authors earlier article [2]. The Editors-in-Chief therefore no longer have confidence in the presented data and the originality of the work. Authors Jianxiao Chen, Jianfeng Xie, Ming Xue, Ling Liu and Yi Yang agree to this retraction. Authors Xiwen Zhang and Haibo Qiu have not responded to any correspondence from the editor or publisher about this retraction. - [1] Zhang X, Chen J, Liu A, et al. Stable overexpression of p130 E2F4 affects the multipotential abilities of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. J Cell Physiol. 2018;233(12):9739u201349. https: doi.org 10.1002 jcp.26926. - [2] Zhang X, Chen J, Xue M, et al. Overexpressing p130 E2F4 in mesenchymal stem cells facilitates the repair of injured alveolar epithelial cells in LPS-induced ARDS mice. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2019;10:74. https: doi.org 10.1186 s13287-019-1169-1 , 
 #2 I commend the journal for their thorough investigation. ,