Human mesenchymal stromal/stem cells acquire immunostimulatory capacity upon cross-talk with natural killer cells and might improve the NK cell function of immunocompromised patients

Background The suppressive effect of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) on diverse immune cells is well known, but it is unclear whether MSCs additionally possess immunostimulatory properties. We investigated the impact of human MSCs on the responsiveness of primary natural killer (NK) cells in terms of cytokine secretion.