Immunomodulatory Properties of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Cells

ABSTRACT MSC‐like populations derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC‐MSC) serve as an alternative stem cell source due to their high proliferative capacity. In this study, we assessed the immunomodulatory potential of iPSC‐MSC generated from periodontal ligament (PDL) and gingival (GF) tissue. The iPSC‐MSC lines exhibited a similar level of suppression of mitogen‐stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) proliferation compared to their respective parental fibroblast populations in vitro. Moreover, iPSC‐MSC demonstrated the ability to suppress T‐cells effector cells, Th1/Th2/Th17 populations, and increase levels of Treg cells. In order to investigate the mechanisms involved, expression of common MSC‐derived soluble factors known to supress lymphocyte proliferation were assessed in iPSC‐MSC cultured with PBMNC with direct cell–cell contact or separated in transwells. Real‐time PCR analysis of factors known to be involved in MSC mediated immune regulation, found a general trend of elevated IDO1 and IL6 transcript levels in iPSC‐MSC lines and their respective primary cells co‐cultured with activated PBMNC, with a wide range of gene expression levels between the different mesenchymal cell types. The results suggest that different iPSC‐MSC may be useful as a potential alternative source of cells for future clinical use in therapeutic applications because of their potent immunosuppressive properties. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 2844–2853, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mesenchymal stem cell‐like populations derived from iPSC human lines demonstrate comparable immunomodulatory properties to their parental mesenchymal cell populations.