Abstract
Both mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have immunosuppressive properties, and their presence may confer a worse prognosis upon cancer patients. However, whether MSCs can enhance the immunosuppressive effects of MDSCs in MM remains unknown. We evaluated the influence of MSCs on MDSCs growth, apoptosis, and functions. Our results show that MSCs promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis in MDSCs. Additionally, MSCs enhance the ability of MDSCs by inhibiting T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Furthermore, both the mRNA and protein levels of Arg1 and NOS2 were upregulated in MDSCs. These results suggest that MSCs may exert immunomodulatory effects on MDSCs by upregulating Arg1 and NOS2.
Keywords:
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Xiaofang Wang for sponsoring this paper and offer technical support and language assistance.
The research is granted by National Natural Science Foundation of China 2013, NO.81272562.
Potential conflict of interest
Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2017.1298753.