Search

BMSCs are important in replacement therapy of diabetic nephropathy (DN). MiR-124a exerts effect on the differentiation capability of pancreatic progenitor cells. The objective of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms, the functions of miR-124a and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in the treatment of DN. Characterizations of BMSCs were identified using the inverted microscope and flow cytometer. The differentiations of BMSCs were analysed by immunofluorescence assay and DTZ staining. The expression levels of islet cell-specific transcription factors, apoptosis-related genes, podocytes-related genes and Notch signalling components were detected using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot assays. The production of insulin secretion was detected by adopting radioimmunoassay. Cell proliferation and apoptosis abilities were detected by CCK-8, flow cytometry and TUNEL assays. We found that BMSCs was induced into islet-like cells and that miR-124a could promote the BMSCs to differentiate into islet-like cells. BMSCs in combination with miR-124a regulated islet cell-specific transcription factors, apoptosis-related genes, podocytes-related genes as well as the activity of Notch signalling pathway. However, BMSCs in combination with miR-124a relieved renal lesion caused by DN and decreased podocyte apoptosis caused by HG. The protective effect of BMSCs in combination with miR-124a was closely related to the inactivation of Notch signalling pathway. MSCs in combination with miR-124a protected kidney tissue from impairment and inhibited nephrocyte apoptosis in DN., (© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)

This in vitro study was performed to identify the role of miR-124a in bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) therapy for H 2 O 2 -induced rat podocyte injury, and determine whether combination treatment with miR-124a could improve the protective effect of BMSCs. Cell viability of podocytes was detected by CCK-8 assay. Detection of ROS level, apoptotic rate, and autophagy rate was carried out using flow cytometry assays. Oxidative stress parameters were analyzed using the ELISA assays. MiR-124a and mRNA levels were determined using real-time PCR. Protein expression was detected using Western blotting. Our study revealed a pivotal role of miR-124a in the protective action of BMSCs on podocyte injury driven by oxidative stress. BMSCs could rescue injured podocytes from aberrant apoptosis and autophagy by regulating cleaved caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, LC3-II/I, and p62. Suppression of the PI3 K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway is likely one of the main mechanisms underlying the protective action of BMSCs transfected with miR-124a. Our study revealed that miR-124a further improves the protective effect of BMSCs in injured podocytes. Thus, the combination of BMSCs and microRNAs could be a beneficial treatment for renal diseases in the near future., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most disabling diseases. Cell-based gene therapy is becoming a major focus for the treatment of SCI. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are a promising stem cell type useful for repairing SCI. However, the effects of BMSCs transplants are likely limited because of low transplant survival after SCI. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a multifunctional growth factor which can facilitate neuronal and BMSCs survival, promote axonal growth, prevent activation of the astrocyte lineage, and enhance the delivery of neurotrophic factors in BMSCs. However, treatment of SCI with Shh alone also has limited effects on recovery, because the protein is cleared quickly. In this study, we investigated the use of BMSCs overexpressing the Shh transgene (Shh-BMSCs) in the treatment of rats with SCI, which could stably secrete Shh and thereby enhance the effects of BMSCs, in an attempt to combine the advantages of Shh and BMSCs and so to promote functional recovery. After Shh-BMSCs treatment of SCI via the subarachnoid, we detected significantly greater damage recovery compared with that seen in rats treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and BMSCs. Use of Shh-BMSCs increased the expression and secretion of Shh, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), improved the behavioral function, enhanced the BMSCs survival, promoted the expression level of neurofilament 200 (NF200), and reduced the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Thus, our results indicated that Shh-BMSCs enhanced recovery of neurological function after SCI in rats and could be a potential valuable therapeutic intervention for SCI in humans., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have the ability of self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation. Recent reports showed that BMSCs could differentiate into endocrine cells of pancreas. However, the differentiation is not efficient enough to produce insulin-producing cells for the future therapeutic use. Pdx-1 is a crucial regulator for pancreatic development. Therefore we constructed a eukaryotic expression vector containing Pdx-1 to determine the effect of Pdx-1 expression on differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. The results showed that BMSCs could self-assemble to form functional pancreatic islet-like structures after differentiation in vitro. The proportion of insulin-producing cells differentiated from Pdx-1+BMSCs was 28.23% +/- 2.56%, higher than that from BMSCs transfected with vacant vector and Pdx-1-BMSCs (7.23% +/- 1.56% and 4.08% +/- 2.69% respectively) by flow cytometry. Immunocytochemical examination also testified the expression of multiple beta-cells-specific genes such as insulin, glucagons, somatostatin in differentiated BMSCs. The results also revealed that the expressions of genes mentioned above in Pdx-1+BMSCs were higher than that in Pdx-1-BMSCs, which was confirmed by Western blotting analysis and RT-PCR. Glucose-induced insulin secretion from Pdx-1+BMSCs in 5 mmol/L and 25 mmol/L glocuse was (56.61 +/- 4.82) microU/mL and (115.29 +/- 2.56) microU/mL respectively, which were much higher than those from Pdx-1-BMSCs ((25.53 +/- 6.49) microU/mL and (53.26 +/- 7.56) microU/mL respectively). Grafted animals were able to maintain their body weight and survive for relatively longer periods of time than hyperglycemic sham-grafted controls, which demonstrated an overall beneficial effect of the grafted cells on the health of the animals. These findings thus suggested that exogenous expression of Pdx-1 should provide a promising approach for efficiently producing islet-like cells from BMSCs for the future therapeutic use in diabetic patients.