2020 Volume 45 Issue 1 Pages 35-45
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been reported to modulate the properties in various types of immunocompetent cells. In this study, MSC-derived cytokine-like peptide, scrapie responsive gene 1 (SCRG1), was investigated for paracrine activity in macrophages. C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7) was identified as a gene whose expression increases in mouse macrophagelike Raw264.7 cells upon stimulation with SCRG1 and co-culture with bone marrow-derived MSC, SG2 cells. Raw264.7 cells stimulated with SCRG1 were significantly increased the expression of CCR7. CCR7 is a receptor for CC-chemokine ligand (CCL) 19 and CCL21, which is an essential receptor for recruitment of T cells and dendritic cells to lymph nodes. Raw264.7 was pretreated with SCRG1, and then chemotaxis to CCL19 and CCL21 was investigated using trans-well migration assay. As a result, Raw264.7 cells pretreated with SCRG1 were significantly increased chemotaxis to CCL19; untreated with SCRG1 did not chemotaxis. Therefore, it was indicated that macrophages whose CCR7 expression was enhanced by SCRG1 stimulation specifically acquired chemotaxis to CCL19. It was suggested that SCRG1 secreted from MSCs in inflammatory tissue induces chemotaxis to CCL19 by paracrine activity in macrophages, and it will be involved in the mechanism by which macrophages exit the inflammatory tissue. The finding that MSC-derived SCRG1 promotes chemotaxis in macrophages may be available for cell therapy using MSC.