Differences and similarities between mesenchymal stem cell and endothelial progenitor cell immunoregulatory properties against T cells

Figure 3 The comparison between mesenchymal stem cell and endothelial progenitor cell immunosuppressive activity in the presence and blockade of the tumor necrosis factor alpha-tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 signaling pathway. Because the immunosuppressive function of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is greater than endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), we have kept them as the reference (5/5). In this case, in the presence of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)-tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) signaling pathway (i.e. normal condition), MSCs have the highest immunosuppressive effect (5/5). On the other hand, in the presence of this signaling, EPCs have a less immunosuppressive effect (3/5). Interestingly, while blockade of this axis led to a complete loss of immunosuppressive function in EPC (0/5), MSCs kept suppressing T cells with less efficiency (2/5), showing that this axis is partially controlling their immunoregulatory properties.