Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 marks distinct subtypes of human adipose stromal/stem cells with different hepatocyte differentiation and immunoregulatory properties

Background Human adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (hASCs) play important roles in regenerative medicine and numerous inflammatory diseases. However, their cellular heterogeneity limits the effectiveness of treatment. Understanding the distinct subtypes of hASCs and their phenotypic implications will enable the selection of appropriate subpopulations for targeted approaches in regenerative medicine or inflammatory diseases. Methods hASC subtypes expressing dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) were identified via fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. DPP4 expression was knocked down in DPP4 ⁺ hASCs via DPP4 siRNA. The capacity for proliferation, hepatocyte differentiation, inflammatory factor secretion and T-cell functionality regulation of hASCs from DPP4 ⁻ , DPP4 ⁺ , and control siRNA-treated DPP4 ⁺ hASCs and DPP4 siRNA-treated DPP4 ⁺ hASCs were assessed. Results DPP4 ⁺ hASCs and control siRNA-treated DPP4 ⁺ hASCs presented a lower proliferative capacity but greater hepatocyte differentiation capacity than DPP4 ⁻ hASCs and DPP4 siRNA-treated DPP4 ⁺ hASCs. Both DPP4 ⁺ hASCs and DPP4 ⁻ hASCs secreted high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6), whereas the levels of other factors, including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, eotaxin-3, fractalkine (FKN, CX3CL1), growth-related oncogene-alpha (GRO-alpha, CXCL1), monokine induced by interferon-gamma (MIG), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1beta, and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), were significantly greater in the supernatants of DPP4 ⁺ hASCs than in those of DPP4 ⁻ hASCs. Exposure to hASC subtypes and their conditioned media triggered changes in the secreted cytokine profiles of T cells from healthy donors. The percentage of functional T cells that secreted factors such as MIP-1b and IL-8 increased when these cells were cocultured with DPP4 ⁺ hASCs. The percentage of polyfunctional CD8 ⁺ T cells that secreted multiple factors, such as IL-17A, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and TNF-β, decreased when these cells were cocultured with supernatants derived from DPP4 ⁺ hASCs. Conclusions DPP4 may regulate proliferation, hepatocyte differentiation, inflammatory cytokine secretion and T-cell functionality of hASCs. These data provide a key foundation for understanding the important role of hASC subpopulations in the regulation of T cells, which may be helpful for future immune activation studies and allow them to be customized for clinical application.