The Sca-1⁺ mesenchymal stromal cells modulate macrophage commitment and function

Authors: YAOZHEN CHEN, YAN CHEN, DANDAN YIN, YAZHOU WANG, ZHENG LIU, NING AN, FAN WEN, NA LI, JIAJIA XIN, XINGBIN HU, HUIJIE ZHANG, WEN YIN

Abstract: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been characterized as an important component of the hematopoietic niche that plays a role in regulating hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) quiescence, self-renewal, and lineage commitment. Macrophages, one kind of innate immune cells, are mainly developed from HSCs in niche. However, how MSCs and their subpopulations regulate macrophage commitment is still unknown. The current study compared the contribution of MSCs and Sca-1⁺MSCs to macrophage commitment and further modulation on the function of macrophages. We found that Sca-1⁺MSCs could promote macrophage commitment through the M-CSFR gene, and Sca-1⁺MSCs led macrophage polarization towards the M2 phenotype. Further functional studies indicated that Sca-1⁺MSCs could remarkably promote the phagocytosis capability of macrophages instead of their antigen-presentation ability. These data demonstrated that Sca-1⁺MSCs could regulate the commitment and function of macrophages from hematopoietic progenitors, which provided new evidence for elucidating the role of MSC subpopulations in hematopoiesis.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stromal cells, Sca-1⁺MSCs, macrophages, niche

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