Larocca, Rafael AssumpçãoMoraes-Vieira, Pedro ManoelBassi, Ênio JoséSemedo, Patríciade Almeida, Danilo Candidoda Silva, Marina BurgosThornley, Thomas B.Pacheco-Silva, AlvaroCâmara, Niels Olsen Saraiva2014-03-102013Larocca, Rafael Assumpção, Pedro Manoel Moraes-Vieira, Ênio José Bassi, Patrícia Semedo, Danilo Candido de Almeida, Marina Burgos da Silva, Thomas Thornley, Alvaro Pacheco-Silva, and Niels Olsen Saraiva Câmara. 2013. “Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increase Skin Allograft Survival and Inhibit Th-17 Immune Response.” PLoS ONE 8 (10): e76396. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076396.1932-6203http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11878966Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSC) exhibit immunosuppressive capabilities both in vitro and in vivo. Their use for therapy in the transplant field is attractive as they could render the use of immunosuppressive drugs unnecessary. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ADSC therapy on prolonging skin allograft survival. Animals that were treated with a single injection of donor allogeneic ADSC one day after transplantation showed an increase in donor skin graft survival by approximately one week. This improvement was associated with preserved histological morphology, an expansion of CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in draining lymph nodes, as well as heightened IL-10 expression and down-regulated IL-17 expression. In vitro, ADSC inhibit naïve CD4+ T cell proliferation and constrain Th-1 and Th-17 polarization. In summary, infusion of ADSC one day post-transplantation dramatically increases skin allograft survival by inhibiting the Th-17 pathogenic immune response and enhancing the protective Treg immune response. Finally, these data suggest that ADSC therapy will open new opportunities for promoting drug-free allograft survival in clinical transplantation.en-USJournal Article2014-03-1010.1371/journal.pone.0076396