Abstract

Background: Sepsis is a state of immune response imbalance in an attempt to eliminate infection. Currently, the hypoxic conditioned medium (HPO-CM) secretome from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been considered as a therapeutic approach with their immunomodulatory capabilities. Objective: The aim of this article was to study the effect of HPO-CM secretome on the levels of IL-6 and IL-4 in the rat model of sepsis. Methods: Forty-eight male Rattus norvegicus rats aged 10-12 weeks were divided into four groups: sham (no sepsis induction and treatment), control (sepsis induction without treatment), T1 (sepsis induction and treated with 150 µL of HPO-CM secretome), and T2 (sepsis induction and treated with 300 µL of HPO-CM secretome). Sepsis was induced with procedures based on previous studies. Forty-eight hours after sepsis induction, we sacrificed the rats and collected the blood from the rat orbitals to examine the serum IL-6 and IL-4 levels. Results: A significant decrease in IL-6 levels was found in rats given 150 µL and 300 µL of HPO-CM secretome. Meanwhile, a significant increase in IL-4 levels was found in rats given 300 µL of HPO-CM secretome. Conclusion: HPO-CM secretome can alleviate immune dysregulation in sepsis by reducing serum IL-6 levels and increasing serum IL-4 levels.

Key words: cytokines, hypoxic conditioned medium, inflammation, mesenchymal stem cell, sepsis.