Human liver stem cells alleviate Con-A induced liver injury by regulating the balance of Treg/Th17 cells

Background Liver injury is a serious threat to human health that has become a worldwide problem. To date, there is still no effective treatment strategy. In the present study, we examined the protective effects of Human liver stem cells (HLSCs) against concanavalin A (Con A)-induced acute liver injury. Methods Isolated HLSCs were characterized by microscopy, functional assays, and gene expression. HLSCs or HLSCs culture medium were transplanted in mice for 12 h and subsequently challenged with Con A via tail-vein injection. The effects were evaluated through survival rate, histology, blood tests, TUNEL assay, quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry. CellTracker™ CM-Dil labled HLSCs were tracked by fluorescence microscope. Results Transplantation of HLSCs reduced the mortality rate, reduced the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin (TBIL), narrowed the area of liver necrosis, and inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis induced by Con A. Injection of HLSCs culture medium could also alleviate Con A-induced liver injury. Of note, HLSCs-transplanted mice exhibited lower frequencies of Th17 cells and higher frequencies of Tregs in their liver and spleen following Con A injection. Moreover, transplantation of HLSCs significantly reduced the expression of IL-17A, IL-17F and ROR-γt induced by Con A, while reversed Con A-induced downregulation of Foxp3 expression and IL-10. Conclusions HLSCs protect mice from immune-mediated liver injury by regulating the balance of Treg/Th17 cells, suggesting that transplantation of HLSCs is a potential and effective therapeutic method for amelioration of liver injury.