MicroRNA-206 down-regulated human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells alleviate cognitive decline in D-galactose-induced aging mice.

BACKGROUND: Non-pathological cognitive decline is a neurodegenerative condition associated with brain aging owing to epigenetic changes, telomere shortening, stem cells exhaustion, or altered differentiation. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have shown excellent therapeutic prospects on the hallmarks of aging. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of hUCMSCs with down-regulated miRNA-206 (hUCMSCs anti-miR-206) on cognitive decline and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: After daily subcutaneous injection of D-gal (500 mg/kg/d) for 8 weeks, 17-week-old male C57BL/6 J mice were stem cells transplanted by lateral ventricular localization injection. During the 10-day rest period, were tested the behavioral experiments applied to cognitive behavior in the hippocampus. And then, the mice were sacrificed for sampling to complete the molecular and morphological experiments. RESULTS: Our behavioral experiments of open field test (OFT), new object recognition test (NOR), and Y-maze revealed that D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging mice treated with hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 had no obvious spontaneous activity disorder and had recovery in learning and spatial memory ability compared with the PBS-treated group. The hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 reconstituted neuronal physiological function in the hippocampal regions of the aging mice with an increase of Nissl bodies and the overexpression of Egr-1, BDNF, and PSD-95. CONCLUSION: This study first reports that hUCMSCs anti-miR-206 could provide a novel stem cell-based antiaging therapeutic approach.

Hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells decrease alopecia areata mouse hair loss and reduce inflammation around the hair follicle.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune hair loss disease with increasing incidence. Corticosteroids are the most widely used for hair loss treatment; however, long-term usage of hormonal drugs is associated with various side effects. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has been studied extensively to curb autoimmune diseases without affecting immunity against diseases. METHODS: Hair follicle-derived MSCs (HF-MSCs) were harvested from the waste material of hair transplants, isolated and expanded. The therapeutic effect of HF-MSCs for AA treatment was investigated in vitro AA-like hair follicle organ model and in vivo C3H/HeJ AA mice model. RESULTS: AA-like hair follicle organ in vitro model was successfully established by pre-treatment of mouse vibrissa follicles by interferon-γ (IFN-γ). The AA-like symptoms were relieved when IFN-γ induced AA in vitro model was co-cultured with HF-MSC for 2 days. In addition, when skin grafted C3H/HeJ AA mice models were injected with 106 HF-MSCs once a week for 3 weeks, the transcription profiling and immunofluorescence analysis depicted that HF-MSCs treatment significantly decreased mouse hair loss and reduced inflammation around HF both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a new therapeutic approach for alopecia areata based on HF-MSCs toward its future clinical application.

hucMSCs transplantation promotes locomotor function recovery, reduces apoptosis and inhibits demyelination after SCI in rats.

AIMS: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause a variety of cells apoptosis, neurodegeneration, and eventually permanent paralysis. This study aimed to examine whether transplanting human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs) can promote locomotor function recovery, reduce apoptosis and inhibit demyelination in SCI models. MAIN METHODS: Rats were allocated into Sham group (spinal cord exposure only), SCI + PBS group (spinal cord impact plus phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injections), SCI + hucMSCs group (spinal cord impact plus hucMSCs injections) groups. Behavioral tests, Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan locomotion scores (BBB scores), were carried out at 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 days after SCI surgery. Hematoxylin-eosin staining observed spinal cord morphology. Nissl staining detected the number of nissl bodies. Myelin basic protein (MBP) and oligodendrocyte (CNPase) were examed by immunohistochemical staining. The apoptosis of oligodendrocyte and neurons were detected by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: The 28-day behavioral test showed that the BBB score of rats in the SCI + hucMSCs group increased significantly, comparing to the SCI + PBS group. The numbers of nissl bodies and myelin sheath in the damaged area of SCI + hucMSCs group were also significantly increased compared to the SCI + PBS group. HucMSCs transplanting decreased the expression of protein level of Caspase-3 and Bax and increased the Bcl-2, MBP and CNPase, rescued the apoptosis of neurons and the oligodendrocyte. CONCLUSION: These results showed that hucMSCs can improve motor function, tissue repairing and reducing apoptosis in SCI rats.