Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on secretion of inflammatory
cytokines in macrophages stimulated by lipopolysacharide (LPS). Methods Rat BMSCs and macrophages were isolated,
cultured, and identified. The BMSCs and macrophages, cultured alone or in co-culture, were treated with LPS or PBS or
without treatment and tested for interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations in the supernatants
at 1, 3, 5, 7, 12, and 24 h after the treatment using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Exposure to LPS caused
significantly increased IL-10 and TNF-α concentrations in the supernatant of cultured macrophages but not in BMSC culture.
Macrophages co-cultured with BMSCs showed significantly lowered IL-10 and TNF-α secretions in response to LPS exposure
as compared with the macrophages cultured alone. Conclusion BMSCs can reduce LPS-induced secretion of inflammatory
cytokines by the macrophages to ameliorate inflammatory reactions.