CD73-mediated adenosine generation – a novel metabolic pathway of MSC-mediated immunosuppression

In addition to their multilineage differentiation potential mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) support hematopoiesis and modulate the adaptive immune system. Based on these properties human MSCs are currently under intensive clinical investigation in different therapeutic applications including tissue repair and immune-mediated disorders such as graft rejection and graft-versus-host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, there is still an ongoing debate on the molecular mechanisms underlying MSC-mediated immunosuppression. Here we show for the first time, that adenosine generated via the CD3…