The effect of bone marrow- derived c-kit⁺ stem cells on lung inflammation in ovalbumin-sensitized male rats

Abstract

In this study, the impact of intratracheal injection of bone marrow-derived c-kit+ and c-kit- cells on the total number and their percentages of WBCs in BAL percentages of blood CD8+ and CD4+ lymphocytes, IL-4, IL-10 and INF- mRNA expressions, the level of ERK/NF-κB proteins as well as the deposition of collagen fibers and the differentiation of injected cells in lung tissue of ovalbumin sensitized male rats were investigated. Materials and Methods: Forty Wistar male rats (8-10 weeks, 200-250 g weight) were divided randomly into four experimental groups: control (c), sensitized (s), sensitized receiving c-kit- cells (S+c-kit-) and sensitized receiving c-kit+ cells (S+c-kit+). Ten animals were used for the extraction of stem cells. The survey was done after fourteen days. Results: The induction of asthma caused significant increase in total WBC, percentages of eosinophils and neutrophils in BAL fluid, blood CD8 + T lymphocytes, pulmonary levels of IL-4 mRNA, NF-kB protein, p-ERK/ERK ratio and collagen deposition while significantly decrease in percentages of lymphocytes in BAL fluid and blood CD4+ T lymphocytes, pulmonary levels of IL-10 and INFγ mRNAs and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio in sensitized group compared to C group (p<0.001 to p<0.05). The intratracheal injection of c-kit+ cells in S+c-kit+ group improved these changes significantly compared to S group (p<0.001 to p<0.05). Moreover, c-kit- and c-kit+ cells differentiated to pneumocytes after 14 days.