This study was designed to investigate the potential effects and underlying mechanism
of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on allergic inflammation compared to
Montelukast as an antileukotriene drug in a rat model of allergic rhinitis (AR). The effect of MSCs was
evaluated in albino rats that were randomly divided into four (control, AR, AR + Montelukast, and
AR + MSCs) groups. Rats of AR group were sensitized by ovalbumin (OVA) and then challenged with
daily nasal drops of OVA diluted in sterile physiological saline (50 L/nostril, 100 mg/mL, 10% OVA)
from day 15 to day 21 of treatment with/without Montelukast (1 h before each challenge) or MSCs I/P
injection (1 106 MCSs; weekly for three constitutive weeks). Both Montelukast and MSCs treatment
started from day 15 of the experiment. At the end of the 5th week, blood samples were collected
from all rats for immunological assays, histological, and molecular biology examinations. Both oral
Montelukast and intraperitoneal injection of MSCs significantly reduced allergic symptoms and
OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), IgG1, IgG2a and histamine as well as increasing prostaglandin
E2 (PGE2). Further analysis revealed that induction of nasal innate cytokines, such as interleukin
(IL)-4 and TNF- ; and chemokines, such as CCL11 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1),
were suppressed; and transforming growth factor- (TGF- ) was up-regulated in Montelukast and
MSCs-treated groups with superior effect to MSCs, which explained their underlying mechanism.
In addition, the adipose tissue-derived MSCs-treated group had more restoring effects on nasal
mucosa structure demonstrated by electron microscopical examination. |
