LAUSR

We read with great interest the article by He et al , which the authors reported that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation (MSCT) plus interferon-γ (IFN-γ) combination therapy may realise clinical efficacy featuring good or moderate EULAR responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who responded poorly to conventional therapeutics including disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.1 MSC-based therapies have become novel therapeutic approaches for RA through immunomodulation, including the induction of T regulatory cells (Treg).2 We agree with the authors that IFN-γ-primed MSCs may bring about improved immunomodulation in vitro (as suggested in Figure 2 by He et al 1), and propose that the results based on studies in patients could be juxtaposed with further evidence on the protocol of IFN-γ treatment, serum levels of IFN-γ in patients and …