Abstract
Food allergy prevalence has steadily increased worldwide over the past decades and immunotherapeutic treatment strategies are gaining attention. Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) exhibit similar immune regulatory properties to bone marrow-derived MSCs. hUC-MCSs can be prepared with fewer ethical constraints and are potential candidates for allergic disorder therapies. The current study aimed to investigate potential antiallergic properties of hUC-MSCs in mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-induced food allergy. Administration of hUC-MSCs cells intraperitoneally combined with oral gavage of the culture medium significantly alleviated OVA-induced diarrhea symptoms. Additionally, this treatment significantly decreased IgE levels and the percentage of T helper 2 cells in the blood, which were increased in mice with OVA-induced food allergy. The mRNA levels of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-4 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and inflammatory cell infiltration in mouse colons were significantly decreased in hUC-MSCs-treated animals compared with mice with OVA-induced food allergy. Goblet cells were detected in colons of allergy-induced mice and their numbers were reduced following treatment with hUC-MSCs. In addition, treatment with hUC-MSCs reestablished the gut flora. The results revealed that hUC-MSCs may have a potential application in food allergy therapy.