Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 18 1 2019 02 24 114 119 EN Rasoul Baharlou Cancer Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran AND Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran Nesa Rashidi Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abbas Ahmadi-Vasmehjani Department of Immunology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran Mahshid Khoubyari Department of Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran Maryam Sheikh Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran Saiedeh Erfanian Research Center for Non-Communicable Diseases, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran 2018 06 15 2018 09 25 Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs) have been reported to suppress the effector T cell responses and have beneficial effects on various immune disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was designed to investigate the effects of co-cultured Ad-MSCs on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of RA patients and healthy individuals, through assessing transcription factors of T cell subsets. PBMCs from RA patients and healthy donors were co-cultured with Ad-MSCs with or without Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression of T-box 21 (T-bet), GATA-binding protein-3 (GATA3), retinoid-related orphan receptor γt (ROR-γt) and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3). Based on the results, Ad-MSCs greatly upregulated Th2 and Treg cell transcription factors, i.e., GATA3 and Foxp3 (p<0.05), and downregulated Th1 and Th17 transcription factors, i.e., T-bet and RORγt (p<0.05). These results demonstrate that Ad-MSCs can result in an immunosuppressive environment through inhibition of pro-inflammatory T cells and induction of T cells with a regulatory phenotype. Therefore, they might have important clinical implications for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as RA. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/1999 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/1999/1400