scholarly journals Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomal miR-27b attenuates subretinal fibrosis via suppressing epithelial–mesenchymal transition by targeting HOXC6

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongli Li ◽  
Junxiu Zhang ◽  
Zijia Liu ◽  
Yuanyuan Gong ◽  
Zhi Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽  
Umbilical Cord ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Human Umbilical Cord ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Subretinal Fibrosis

Abstract Background and aim Subretinal fibrosis resulting from neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is one of the major causes of serious and irreversible vision loss worldwide, and no definite and effective treatment exists currently. Retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells are crucial in maintaining the visual function of normal eyes and its epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with the pathogenesis of subretinal fibrosis. Stem cell-derived exosomes have been reported to play a crucial role in tissue fibrosis by transferring their molecular contents. This study aimed to explore the effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell exosomes (hucMSC-Exo) on subretinal fibrosis in vivo and in vitro and to investigate the anti-fibrotic mechanism of action of hucMSC-Exo. Methods In this study, human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) were successfully cultured and identified, and exosomes were isolated from the supernatant by ultracentrifugation. A laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and subretinal fibrosis model indicated that the intravitreal administration of hucMSC-Exo effectively alleviated subretinal fibrosis in vivo. Furthermore, hucMSC-Exo could efficaciously suppress the migration of retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and promote the mesenchymal–epithelial transition by delivering miR-27b-3p. The latent binding of miR-27b-3p to homeobox protein Hox-C6 (HOXC6) was analyzed by bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assays. Results This study showed that the intravitreal injection of hucMSC-Exo effectively ameliorated laser-induced CNV and subretinal fibrosis via the suppression of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. In addition, hucMSC-Exo containing miR-27b repressed the EMT process in RPE cells induced by transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-β2) via inhibiting HOXC6 expression. Conclusions The present study showed that HucMSC-derived exosomal miR-27b could reverse the process of EMT induced by TGF-β2 via inhibiting HOXC6, indicating that the exosomal miR-27b/HOXC6 axis might play a vital role in ameliorating subretinal fibrosis. The present study proposed a promising therapeutic agent for treating ocular fibrotic diseases and provided insights into the mechanism of action of hucMSC-Exo on subretinal fibrosis.

scholarly journals Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-derived Exosomal miR-27b Attenuate Subretinal Fibrosis via Suppressing Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition by Targeting HOXC6

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
dongli Li ◽  
Junxiu Zhang ◽  
Zijia Liu ◽  
Yuanyuan Gong ◽  
Zhi Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽  
Umbilical Cord ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Human Umbilical Cord ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Rpe Cells ◽  
Subretinal Fibrosis

Abstract Background and aimSubretinal fibrosis resulting from neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is one of the major causes of serious and irreversible vision loss worldwide, and no definite and effective treatment exists currently. Retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells are crucial in maintaining the visual function of normal eyes and its epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with the pathogenesis of subretinal fibrosis. Stem cells-derived exosomes have been reported to play a crucial part in tissue fibrosis by transferring their molecular contents. This study aimed to explore the effects of human umbilical cordderived mesenchymal stem cell exosomes (hucMSC-Exo) on subretinal fibrosis in vivo and in vitro and to investigate the anti-fibrotic mechanism of hucMSC-Exo.Methods In this study, we successfully cultured and identified human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSC), and isolated exosomes from their supernatant by ultracentrifugation.Laser-induced (choroidal neovascularization) CNV and subretinal fibrosis model indicated that intravitreal administration of hucMSC-Exo effectively alleviated subretinal fibrosis in vivo. Furthermore, we found that hucMSC-Exo could efficaciously suppress RPE cells migration and promote the mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET) by delivering miR-27b-3p. Analysis of the latent binding of miR-27b-3p to HOXC6 was made by bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assays. ResultsThe study showed that intravitreal injection of hucMSC-Exo effectively ameliorated laser-induced CNV and subretinal fibrosis via suppression of EMT process. In addition, hucMSC-Exo containing miR-27b repressed the EMT process in RPE cells induced by the TGF-β2 via inhibiting HOXC6 (Homeobox protein Hox-C6) expression. ConclusionsThis study provided novel insights into the anti-fibrotic mechanism of hucMSC-Exo on subretinal fibrosis. HucMSCs-derived exosomal miR-27b could reverse the process of EMT induced by TGF-β2 via inhibiting HOXC6, which indicated that exosomal miR-27b/HOXC6 axis could play a vital role on ameliorating subretinal fibrosis. Our study put forward a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of ocular fibrotic diseases, as well as comprehension into the mechanism of hucMSC-Exo under subretinal fibrosis.

scholarly journals Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Improve Ovarian Function and Proliferation of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency by Regulating the Hippo Signaling Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongkang Li ◽  
Mingle Zhang ◽  
Jiahua Zheng ◽  
Yanpeng Tian ◽  
Huihui Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽  
Umbilical Cord ◽  
Ovarian Function ◽  
Hippo Pathway ◽  
Premature Ovarian Insufficiency ◽  
Human Umbilical Cord ◽  
Ovarian Insufficiency

BackgroundPremature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is associated with severe physical damage and psychological burden on women. Transplantation of exosomes is an encouraging regenerative medicine method, which has the potential for restoring ovarian functions on POI with high efficiency. This study aims at evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (hUCMSC-Exos) on ovarian dysfunction of POI and the role of Hippo pathway in this exosome-mediated treatment.MethodsPOI mice models were established through intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. Subsequently, transplantation of hUCMSC-Exos was conducted to administer POI mice. Ovaries and plasma of these mice models were harvested after two weeks of treatment. Ovarian morphology and follicle number were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Moreover, ELISA was used to detect hormone levels, which are related to ovarian function in serum. To assess the recovery of reproductive ability, we recorded the rate of pregnancy, the amount of offspring, and the time of birth in different groups. To explore the underlying mechanisms of exosome-mediated treatment for ovarian function recovery, the proliferation of ovarian cells in vivo was detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining. Additionally, we conducted EdU and CCK-8 assays to assess the proliferative ability of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) that were cultured in vitro. Western blot analysis was conducted to estimate the proteins levels of Hippo- and proliferation-associated molecules in vivo and in vitro.ResultsAfter transplantation of hUCMSC-Exos, the ovarian function-related hormone levels and the number of ovarian follicles returned to nearly normal degrees. Meanwhile, there was a significant improvement in reproductive outcomes after exosomal treatment. Furthermore, the improvement of ovarian function and proliferation was associated with the regulation of Hippo pathway. In vitro, co-culture with exosomes significantly elevated the proliferation of ovarian GCs by regulating Hippo pathway. However, the positive effects on the proliferation of GCs were significantly depressed when key Hippo pathway molecule was inhibited.ConclusionThis study suggested that hUCMSC-Exos promoted ovarian functions and proliferation by regulating the Hippo pathway. Therefore, exosomal transplantation could be a promising and efficient clinical therapy for POI in the near future.

scholarly journals The Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transcription Factor SNAI1 Represses Transcription of the Tumor Suppressor miRNA let-7 in Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1469
Author(s):  
Hanmin Wang ◽  
Evgeny Chirshev ◽  
Nozomi Hojo ◽  
Tise Suzuki ◽  
Antonella Bertucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Tumor Burden ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Carcinoma Cell Lines ◽  
Future Work

We aimed to determine the mechanism of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-induced stemness in cancer cells. Cancer relapse and metastasis are caused by rare stem-like cells within tumors. Studies of stem cell reprogramming have linked let-7 repression and acquisition of stemness with the EMT factor, SNAI1. The mechanisms for the loss of let-7 in cancer cells are incompletely understood. In four carcinoma cell lines from breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and ovarian cancer and in ovarian cancer patient-derived cells, we analyzed stem cell phenotype and tumor growth via mRNA, miRNA, and protein expression, spheroid formation, and growth in patient-derived xenografts. We show that treatment with EMT-promoting growth factors or SNAI1 overexpression increased stemness and reduced let-7 expression, while SNAI1 knockdown reduced stemness and restored let-7 expression. Rescue experiments demonstrate that the pro-stemness effects of SNAI1 are mediated via let-7. In vivo, nanoparticle-delivered siRNA successfully knocked down SNAI1 in orthotopic patient-derived xenografts, accompanied by reduced stemness and increased let-7 expression, and reduced tumor burden. Chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that SNAI1 binds the promoters of various let-7 family members, and luciferase assays revealed that SNAI1 represses let-7 transcription. In conclusion, the SNAI1/let-7 axis is an important component of stemness pathways in cancer cells, and this study provides a rationale for future work examining this axis as a potential target for cancer stem cell-specific therapies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document