Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jul 2020)

Neuroprotective Effect of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Against Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion-Induced Neural Functional Injury: A Pivotal Role for AMPK and JAK2/STAT3/NF-κB Signaling Pathway Modulation

  • Han M,
  • Cao Y,
  • Xue H,
  • Chu X,
  • Li T,
  • Xin D,
  • Yuan L,
  • Ke H,
  • Li G,
  • Wang Z

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 2865 – 2876

Abstract

Read online

Min Han,1– 3 Ying Cao,2 Hao Xue,1 Xili Chu,2 Tingting Li,2 Danqing Xin,2 Lin Yuan,2 Hongfei Ke,2 Gang Li,1 Zhen Wang2 1Department of Neurosurgery, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, The Fifth People’s Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong Province 250022, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhen WangDepartment of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected] LiDepartment of Neurosurgery, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) is the main factor that leads to poor prognosis of cerebral ischemia. Apoptosis has been shown to occur during the process of CIRI. Extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs-EVs) have shown broad potential for treating brain dysfunction and eliciting neuroprotective effects after stroke through neurogenesis and angiogenesis. However, the mechanism of action of extracellular vesicles during CIRI is not well known.Methods: A middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was induced by the modified Longa method, and MSCs-EVs were injected via the tail vein.Results: Our results showed that MSCs-EVs significantly alleviated neurological deficits, reduced the volume of cerebral infarction and brain water content, improved pathological lesions in cortical brain tissue, and attenuated neuronal apoptosis in the cortex at 24 h and 48 h after MCAO in rats. Western blotting analysis showed that MSCs-EVs significantly upregulated p-AMPK and downregulated p-JAK2, p-STAT3 and p-NF-κB. In addition, an AMPK pathway blocker reversed the effect of MSCs-EVs on brain damage.Conclusion: These results indicate that MSCs-EVs protected MCAO-injured rats, possibly by regulating the AMPK and JAK2/STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathways. This study supports the use of MSCs-EVs as a potential treatment strategy for MCAO in the future.Keywords: extracellular vesicles, cerebral ischemia reperfusion, neuroprotection, AMPK, nuclear factor κB, JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway

Keywords