Yang, ZijiangConcannon, JohnNg, Kelvin S.Seyb, KathleenMortensen, Luke J.Ranganath, SudhirGu, FangqiLevy, OrenTong, ZhixiangMartyn, KeirZhao, WeianLin, CharlesGlicksman, Marcie A.Karp, Jeffrey2016-10-112016Yang, Z., J. Concannon, K. S. Ng, K. Seyb, L. J. Mortensen, S. Ranganath, F. Gu, et al. 2016. “Tetrandrine identified in a small molecule screen to activate mesenchymal stem cells for enhanced immunomodulation.” Scientific Reports 6 (1): 30263. doi:10.1038/srep30263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep30263.2045-2322http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29002562Pre-treatment or priming of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) prior to transplantation can significantly augment the immunosuppressive effect of MSC-based therapies. In this study, we screened a library of 1402 FDA-approved bioactive compounds to prime MSC. We identified tetrandrine as a potential hit that activates the secretion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a potent immunosuppressive agent, by MSC. Tetrandrine increased MSC PGE2 secretion through the NF-κB/COX-2 signaling pathway. When co-cultured with mouse macrophages (RAW264.7), tetrandrine-primed MSC attenuated the level of TNF-α secreted by RAW264.7. Furthermore, systemic transplantation of primed MSC into a mouse ear skin inflammation model significantly reduced the level of TNF-α in the inflamed ear, compared to unprimed cells. Screening of small molecules to pre-condition cells prior to transplantation represents a promising strategy to boost the therapeutic potential of cell therapy.en-USJournal Article2016-10-1110.1038/srep30263