Mesenchymal stem cells pretreated with proinflammatory cytokines accelerate skin wound healing by promoting macrophages migration and M2 polarization

INTRODUCTION: Numerous studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) promote cutaneous wound healing via paracrine signaling. Our previous study found that the secretome of MSCs was significantly amplified by treatment with IFN-γ and TNF-α (IT). It has been known that macrophages are involved in the initiation and termination of inflammation, secretion of growth factors, phagocytosis, cell proliferation and collagen deposition in wound, which is the key factor during wound healing. In the present study, we used a unique supernatant of MSCs from human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) pretreated with IT, designated S-IT MSCs, to explore whether S-IT MSCs have a better effect on improving wound healing by improving the biological function of macrophages than the control supernatant of MSCs (S-MSCs). METHODS: In the present study, we used a unique supernatant of MSCs pretreated with IT subcutaneously injected into a mice total skin excision. We evaluated the effect of S-IT MSCs on wound healing and the quality of wound repair via promoting macrophages migration and M2 polarization in vivo. In addition, the effect of S-IT MSCs on macrophages migration, converting toward M2 phenotype and phagocytosis were also investigated in vitro. RESULTS: Indeed, S-IT MSCs were found to be more potent in promoting macrophage migration, M2 polarization, phagocytosis, and promoting wound closure than S-MSCs during the wound repair. High levels of CCL2 and IL-6 were found in S-IT MSCs, which indicated that the optimization of macrophage function by S-IT MSCs may be achieved through their high expression of CCL2 and IL-6. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the beneficial paracrine effect of MSCs on wound healing can be amplified by pretreatment with IT, which may represent a new strategy for optimizing the therapeutic effect of MSCs on wound healing.