Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease via PD-1/PD-L1 signalling axis
Authors' conclusion
CD4+PD-1+ T cells drive fibrosis in SSc-ILD, and MSCs ameliorate disease by suppressing PD-1+ T cells through PD-L1-mediated mechanisms.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with SSc (SSc-ILD and SSc-nILD subgroups), healthy controls, and bleomycin (BLM)-induced SSc-ILD mice30 SSc patients · 15 healthy controls (HCs)
- Comparison
- MSCs vs untreated BLM-induced mice; SSc-ILD vs SSc-nILD vs HCs
- HCsn = 15reference
Methodological detailsflow cytometry of patient T cells, BLM-induced SSc-ILD mouse model, PD-L1 knockdown (siPD-L1), in vitro co-culture
- Flow cytometry of patient T cells
- BLM-induced SSc-ILD mouse model
- PD-L1 knockdown (siPD-L1)
- In vitro co-culture
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- PD-1 expression significantly elevated in CD3+ and CD4+ T cells of SSc-ILD vs HCs and SSc-nILD
- In BLM-induced mice, lung CD4+PD-1+ T cells increased progressively, correlated with severity of lung fibrosis
- CD4+PD-1+ T cells directly stimulated fibroblasts to upregulate collagen and transforming growth factor β1
- MSCs reduced pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis and PD-1+ T cell frequencies in lungs of BLM-induced mice
- Therapeutic effect was PD-L1-dependent, mediated by MSC-induced suppression
Original publication
Mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease via PD-1/PD-L1 signalling axis. RMD Open. Published 6 January 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →