scholarly journals Curcumin improves human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells survival and promotes motor outcome via ERK Signaling after spinal cord injury

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu Wanjiang ◽  
Chen Xin ◽  
Chen Yaxing ◽  
Wang Jie ◽  
Zhang Hongyan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) transplantation are assumed as a promising strategy in spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the complex pathological microenvironment after SCI induces the apoptosis of hUC-MSCs, which limits the clinical application for the cell replacement therapy. Methods In this study, in order to investigate whether combined with curcumin could strengthen the therapeutic effects of hUC-MSCs transplantation for SCI, we mediated the apoptosis of hUC-MSCs with TNF-α and transplanted hUC-MSCs into SCI rats, followed by assessed the anti- apoptosis effect and mechanism of curcumin. Results LDH release test and flow cytometry demonstrated that TNF-α led to the hUC-MSCs apoptosis and curcumin increased survival rate of hUC-MSCs with dose-dependent. In addition, we showed that the phosphorylation levels of ERK, JNK and P38 were up-regulated in the hUC-MSCs apoptosis, while curcumin strengthened the phosphorylation of ERK, but not activated the JNK and P38, which was reversed by p42/44 antagonist U0126. Furthermore, we exhibited that the motor function scores and surviving HNA-positive cells were significantly increased after curcumin combined with hUC-MSCs transplantation therapy 8 weeks post SCI, while U0126 markedly attenuated these phenomenons. Conclusions The aforementioned data confirmed that curcumin suppressed the apoptosis of hUC-MSCs through ERK signal pathway and combined curcumin with hUC-MSCs treatment improved motor function after SCI in rats. The current research provides a strong basis for hUC-MSCs replacement therapy in conjunction with curcumin in the treatment and management of SCI in human.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Xiao ◽  
Weiwei Li ◽  
Dingchao Rong ◽  
Zhenchao Xu ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractSpinal cord injury (SCI) is a salient traumatic disease that often leads to permanent disability, and motor and sensory impairments. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HucMSCs) have a wide application prospect in the treatment of SCI. This study explored the repair effect of HucMSCs-derived extracellular vesicles (HucMSCs-EVs) on SCI. HucMSCs and HucMSCs-EVs were cultured and identified. The rat model of SCI was established, and SCI rats were treated with HucMSCs-EVs. The motor function of SCI rats and morphology of spinal cord tissues were evaluated. Levels of NeuN, GFAP, and NF200 in spinal cord tissues were detected and cell apoptosis was measured. SCI rats were treated with EVs extracted from miR-29b-3p inhibitor-transfected HucMSCs. The downstream gene and pathway of miR-29b-3p were examined. HucMSCs-EVs-treated rats showed obvious motor function recovery and reduced necrosis, nuclear pyknosis, and cavity. HucMSCs-EVs alleviated spinal cord neuronal injury. miR-29b-3p was poorly expressed in SCI tissues, but highly expressed in EVs and SCI rats treated with EVs. miR-29b-3p targeted PTEN. Inhibition of miR-29b-3p or overexpression of PTEN reversed the repair effect of EVs on SCI. EVs activated the AKT/mTOR pathway via the miR-29b-3p/PTEN. In conclusion, HucMSCs-EVs reduced pathological changes, improved motor function, and promoted nerve function repair in SCI rats via the miR-29b-3p/PTEN/Akt/mTOR axis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabián Nishida ◽  
María F. Zappa Villar ◽  
Carolina N. Zanuzzi ◽  
María S. Sisti ◽  
Agustina E. Camiña ◽  
...  

ASN NEURO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175909142110106
Author(s):  
Ziling Liao ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Weiyue Deng ◽  
Yuying Zhang ◽  
Aishi Song ◽  
...  

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes patients paralysis and hard to recover. The therapeutic effects of current clinical drugs are accompanied by side effects. In recent years, stem cell therapy has attracted the attention of researchers. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) have been widely used in various diseases due to their excellent paracrine function. TNF-stimulated gene 6 (TSG-6), a secretion factor of stem cells, may play an important role in hucMSCs in the treatment of SCI. So we conducted an experiment to explore its effect. We first observed that the expression of TSG-6 increased in SCI rats after injected with hucMSCs. Then, we used siRNA to knowdown the expression of TSG-6. We treated SCI rats with TSG-6-knockdown hucMSCs. Without TSG-6 expression, hucMSCs treatment made the tissue recovery worse and the number of Nissl bodies less. Meanwhile, neutrophils infiltrated more in the damaged parts. Our research also proved that TSG-6 may help demyelination recovering and alleviate astrocytes gathering in the injury sites. Our study revealed that hucMSCs secreted TSG-6 may decrease the degeneration of myelin sheath, reduce inflammation, decrease neuron loss and promote tissue repair. These results provided a new therapeutic factor for the treatment of SCI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Zhai ◽  
Kai Chen ◽  
Huan Yang ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Tianjunke Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an inflammatory condition, and excessive adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is released into the extracellular space, which can be catabolized into adenosine by CD73. Extracellular vesicles have been designed as nano drug carriers in many diseases. However, their impacts on delivery of CD73 after SCI are not yet known. We aimed to construct CD73 modified extracellular vesicles and explore the anti-inflammatory effects after SCI. Methods CD73 engineered extracellular vesicles (CD73+ hucMSC-EVs) were firstly established, which were derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) transduced by lentiviral vectors to upregulate the expression of CD73. Effects of CD73+ hucMSC-EVs on hydrolyzing ATP into adenosine were detected. The polarization of M2/M1 was verified by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, A2aR and A2bR inhibitors and A2bR knockdown cells were used to investigate the activated adenosine receptor. Biomarkers of microglia and levels of cAMP/PKA were also detected. Repetitively in vivo study, morphology staining, flow cytometry, cytokine analysis, and ELISA assay, were also applied for verifications. Results CD73+ hucMSC-EVs reduced concentration of ATP and promoted the level of adenosine. In vitro experiments, CD73+ hucMSC-EVs increased macrophages/microglia M2:M1 polarization, activated adenosine 2b receptor (A2bR), and then promoted cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. In mice using model of thoracic spinal cord contusion injury, CD73+ hucMSC-EVs improved the functional recovery after SCI through decreasing the content of ATP in cerebrospinal fluid and improving the polarization from M1 to M2 phenotype. Thus, the cascaded pro-inflammatory cytokines were downregulated, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, while the anti-inflammatory cytokines were upregulated, such as IL-10 and IL-4. Conclusions CD73+ hucMSC-EVs ameliorated inflammation after spinal cord injury by reducing extracellular ATP, promoting A2bR/cAMP/PKA pathway and M2/M1 polarization. CD73+ hucMSC-EVs might be promising nano drugs for clinical application in SCI therapy. Graphical Abstract


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 893-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sun ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Heng Chen ◽  
Dong Liu ◽  
Tingyu Qu ◽  
...  

Neural stem cells (NSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising graft materials for cell therapies in spinal cord injury (SCI) models. Previous studies have demonstrated that MSCs can regulate the microenvironment of NSCs and promote their survival rate. Furthermore, several studies indicate that MSCs can reduce stem cell transplantation-linked tumor formation. To our knowledge, no previous studies have determined whether co-transplantation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) and human neural stem cells (hNSCs) could improve the outcome in rats with SCI. Therefore, we investigated whether the transplantation of hUC-MSCs combined with hNSCs through an intramedullary injection can improve the outcome of rats with SCI, and explored the underlying mechanisms. In this study, a moderate spinal cord contusion model was established in adult female Wistar rats using an NYU impactor. In total, 108 spinal cord-injured rats were randomly selected and divided into the following five groups: 1) hUC-MSCs group, 2) hNSCs group, 3) hUC-MSCs+hNSCs group, 4) PBS (control) group, and 5) a Sham group. Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) behavioral test scores were used to evaluate the motor function of all animals before and after the SCI weekly through the 8th week. Two weeks after transplantation, some rats were sacrificed, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate the survival and differentiation of the transplanted stem cells, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was detected by ELISA in the injured spinal cords. At the end of the experiment, we evaluated the remaining myelin sheath and anterior horn neurons in the injured spinal cords using Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining. Our results demonstrated that the surviving stem cells in the hUC-MSCs+hNSCs group were significantly increased compared with those in the hUC-MSCs alone and the hNSCs alone groups 2 weeks post-transplantation. Furthermore, the results of the BBB scores and the remaining myelin sheath evaluated via LFB staining in the injured spinal cords demonstrated that the most significantly improved outcome occurred in the hUC-MSCs+hNSCs group. The hUC-MSCs alone and the hNSCs alone groups also had a better outcome compared with that of the PBS-treated group. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that local intramedullary subacute transplantation of hUC-MSCs, hNSCs, or hUC-MSCs+hNSCs significantly improves the outcome in an in vivo moderate contusion SCI model, and that co-transplantation of hUC-MSCs and hNSCs displayed the best outcome in our experiment.


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