Exosomes Derived from Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells Alleviate Compression-Induced Nucleus Pulposus Cell Apoptosis by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress.

Yiqiang Hu,Guohui Liu,Hang Xue,Linfang Wang,Liming Xiong,Ze Lin,Hui Li,Adriana C Panayi,Lang Chen,Ranyang Tao,Dragan Hrnčić

doi:10.1155/2021/2310025

Abstract

Oxidative stress is relevant in compression-induced nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Exosomes derived from bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs-Exos) are key secretory products of MSCs, with important roles in tissue regeneration. This research is aimed at studying the protective impact of BMSCs-Exos on NP cell apoptosis caused by compression and investigating the underlying mechanisms. Our results indicated that we isolated BMSCs successfully. Exosomes were isolated from the BMSCs and found to alleviate the inhibitory effect that compression has on proliferation and viability in NP cells, decreasing the toxic effects of compression-induced NP cells. AnnexinV/PI double staining and TUNEL assays indicated that the BMSCs-Exos reduced compression-induced apoptosis. In addition, our research found that BMSCs-Exos suppressed compression-mediated NP oxidative stress by detecting the ROS and malondialdehyde level. Furthermore, BMSCs-Exos increased the mitochondrial membrane potential and alleviated compression-induced mitochondrial damage. These results indicate that BMSCs-Exos alleviate compression-mediated NP apoptosis by suppressing oxidative stress, which may provide a promising cell-free therapy for treating IVD degeneration.

Highlights

Low back pain (LBP) has emerged as a health issue affecting quality of life and exerting a financial burden on patients and healthcare systems
To test the impact of BMSCs-Exos on nucleus pulposus (NP) cells, the cells were cultured in a pressure apparatus to simulate mechanical loading conditions of intervertebral disc (IVD) as we described previously [13, 24, 25]
Flow cytometry was used for surface marker detection on the BMSCs, demonstrating that the isolated cells highly expressed specificity surface markers of stem cells, including CD73 and CD90

Summary

Introduction

Low back pain (LBP) has emerged as a health issue affecting quality of life and exerting a financial burden on patients and healthcare systems. IVD degeneration is the principal cause of LBP [1, 2]. Therapy of IVD degeneration typically entails conservative treatment or spinal operation to reduce the patient’s pain [3, 4]. These treatments are, symptomatic and do not cure IVD degeneration. Many complicated factors, including aging and mechanical stress are associated with IVD degeneration. Excessive mechanical loading is regarded as a key cause of IVD degeneration [5, 6]. The mechanisms of IVD degeneration have not been completely elucidated

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