The repair effect of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on traumatic pancreatitis in rats

Abstract

Objective To explore the curative and protective effects of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells(hUCMSC-Ex)on traumatic pancreatitis in rats. Methods Sixty grown male SD rats (200~250 g) were selected and randomly divided into four groups (n=15 of each group): control, traumatic pancreatitis (TP), TP+hUC-MSCs, and TP+hUCMSC-Ex groups. In the control group, the pancreas was gently turned over after laparotomy. Subsequently, the abdomen was closed and 1 mL normal saline was injected via the tail vein. In the TP group, a rat model of TP was established using a model impactor and 1 mL of normal saline was injected via the tail vein. hUC-MSCs or hUCMSC-Ex were injected via tail vein after modeling in TP+hUC-MSCs and TP+hUCMSC-Ex groups. The ultracentrifugation was used to obtain exosomes, and transmission electron microscopy was used to identify exosomes; HE staining was used for detecting the severity of damage of pancreatic tissue; The expression levels of amylase, lipase, pro-inflammatory factors and anti-inflammatory factors were detected by ELISA; Cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL; The expression levels of apoptosis proteins Bax and Caspase-3 were detected by Western blotting. Results Compared with TP group, TP+hUC-MSCs group and TP+hUCMSC-Ex group had obvious lower score on pancreas histopathological scoring(P < 0.05); The concentrations of serum amylase and lipase were significantly decreased (P < 0.05); The expression levels of serum pro-inflammatory factors IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly decreased, while the expression levels of anti-inflammatory factors IL-10 and TGF-β were significantly increased (P < 0.05); The apoptotic index in the TP group was significantly higher than that of in the control group (P < 0.05), and the apoptotic index in the TP+hUC-MSCs group and TP+hUCMSC-Ex group was significantly lower than that in the TP group (P < 0.05). Compared with TP group, the expression levels of pancreatic apoptotic proteins Bax and Caspase-3 were significantly decreased in the TP+hUC-MSCs group and TP+hUCMSC-Ex group (P < 0.05). Conclusion The hUCMSC-Ex can inhibit the apoptosis of rat acinar cells and participate in the regeneration and repair of pancreatic tissue by controlling the systemic inflammatory reaction.

Keywords

• exosomes
• human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells
• traumatic pancreatitis
• apoptosis