Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviate intestinal barrier injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis

Objective: To study the protective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) on intestinal barrier injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 45) were randomly assigned to a SHAM group, SAP group and SAP+ucMSCs group (n = 15). The SAP group was subject to injection of 5% sodium taurocholate into the pancreatic duct. In the SAP+ucMSCs group, CM-DiI-labeled ucMSCs were intravenously injected into the rats with SAP. Twenty-four hours after the surgery, the samples of small intestine, blood, pancreas and mesenteric lymph nodes were collected for histological, bacteriological, serum and molecular analyses. Results: usMSCs located in the injured region of the small intestine, and lowered the 24-h mortality rate of the SAP rats. usMSC transplantation also significantly lowered the levels of the inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta and of the pathological score of the small intestine. Importantly, usMSC transplantation increased the expression of intestinal keratinocyte growth factor and improved the intestinal barrier function, as evidenced by the decrease in D-lactate, endotoxins and bacterial translocation and the increase in tight junction proteins zona occludens 1 and occludin expression. Conclusion: Human ucMSCs reduced intestinal barrier injury in rats with SAP, which may be developed as a therapeutic strategy for SAP.