Interleukin-4 regulates phonotype,proliferation and hematopoietic supporting capacity of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells

AIM: To explore the effects of interleukin-4 (IL-4) on the biological characteristics and hematopoietic supporting effects of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSC). METHODS: The phenotype of UC-MSC was detected by flow cytometry after IL-4 stimulation, and the proliferation ability of UC-MSC was measured by BrdU-ELISA. Oil red O and alizarin red were used to observe the ability of differentiation. The mRNA expression in UC-MSC was determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The culture medium isolated from UC-MSC was used to analyze the ability in promoting colony formation.RESULTS: After IL-4 stimulation, the expression of CD11b, CD19, CD34, CD45, CD73, CD90, CD105, HLA-DR and HLA-ABC was unchanged. IL-4 inhibited the proliferation of UC-MSC, but no difference was detected on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. The culture medium from IL-4-induced UC-MSC possessed strong ability for promoting CD34+ colony formation ability. CONCLUSION: IL-4 inhibits the proliferation of UC-MSC and enhances its hematopoietic supporting ability.