Investigating the effects of IDO1, PTGS2, and TGF-β1 overexpression on immunomodulatory properties of hTERT-MSCs and their extracellular vesicles

The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is out of the question. Yet, recent drawbacks have resulted in a strategic shift towards the application of MSC-derived cell-free products such as extracellular vesicles (EVs). Recent reports revealed that functional properties of MSCs, including EV secretion patterns, correlate with microenvironmental cues. These findings highlight the urgent need for defining the optimal circumstances for EV preparation. Considering the limitations of primary cells, we employed immortalized cells as an alternative source to prepare therapeutically sufficient EV numbers. Herein, the effects of different conditional environments are explored on human TERT-immortalized MSCs (hTERT-MSCs). The latter were transduced to overexpress IDO1 , PTGS2, and TGF-β1 transgenes either alone or in combination, and their immunomodulatory properties were analyzed thereafter. Likewise, EVs derived from these various MSCs were extensively characterized. hTERT-MSCs-IDO1 exerted superior inhibitory effects on lymphocytes, significantly more than hTERT-MSCs-IFN-γ. As such, IDO1 overexpression promoted the immunomodulatory properties of such enriched EVs. Considering the limitations of cell therapy like tumor formation and possible immune responses in the host, the results presented herein might be considered as a feasible model for the induction of immunomodulation in off-the-shelf and cell-free therapeutics, especially for autoimmune diseases.