Contact-dependent induction of regulatory antigen-presenting cells by human mesenchymal stem cells is mediated via STAT3 signaling

These findings suggest that APC's STAT3 plays a key role in mediating the immunomodulatory effects of hMSCs. Moreover, the induction of STAT3 signaling by hMSCs is mediated by a novel mechanism involving cell-cell interaction rather than the classical mechanism of induction by cytokines.