Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (Mar 2023)

Extracellular vesicles from medicated plasma of Buyang Huanwu decoction-preconditioned neural stem cells accelerate neurological recovery following ischemic stroke

  • Jun Long,
  • Chenyang Gu,
  • Qiankun Zhang,
  • Jiale Liu,
  • Jiajun Huang,
  • Yajing Li,
  • Yifan Zhang,
  • Rong Li,
  • Waqas Ahmed,
  • Jianfeng Zhang,
  • Ahsan Ali Khan,
  • Hengsen Cai,
  • Yong Hu,
  • Lukui Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1096329
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Introduction: The neurological impairment of survivors after ischemic stroke poses a serious risk to their quality of life and health. Effective therapeutic options are still lacking. Neural stem cells (NSCs) promote neurogenesis via secreted extracellular vesicles (NSC-EVs), which would be a potential therapeutic option, but the insufficient quantity of NSC-EVs in vivo restrains clinical application. Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD), a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction, is promising to alleviate neurological impairment after ischemic stroke. It was speculated that BHD might promote neurological recovery through the NSC-EVs.Methods: The medicated plasma of BHD (MP-BHD) was prepared to precondition NSCs and isolate EVs (BHD-NSC-EVs). Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) models and primary NSCs were administered to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Next-generation sequencing was performed to explore the mechanism.Results: The BHD-NSC-EVs more significantly accelerated neurological recovery after MCAO and promoted NSCs proliferation and differentiation than BHD and NSC-EVs alone. MP-BHD enhanced the largescale generation of BHD-NSC-EVs, which encapsulated functional miRNA and may play critical roles in neurogenesis.Discussion: In replacing BHD or NSCs, the preconditioned NSC-EVs present a more efficient therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke. Based on the clinical efficacy of TCM, the preconditioning of NSC-derived EVs via the MP of TCM herbs would presents a newly promising therapeutic strategy for neurological diseases.

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