scholarly journals A Rapid and Highly Predictive in vitro Screening Platform for Osteogenic Natural Compounds Using Human Runx2 Transcriptional Activity in Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Author(s):  
Li-Tzu Wang ◽  
Yu-Wei Lee ◽  
Chyi-Huey Bai ◽  
Hui-Chun Chiang ◽  
Hsiu-Huan Wang ◽  
...  

The rapid aging of worldwide populations had led to epidemic increases in the incidence of osteoporosis (OP), but while treatments are available, high cost, adverse effects, and poor compliance continue to be significant problems. Naturally occurring plant-based compounds including phytoestrogens can be good and safe candidates to treat OP, but screening for osteogenic capacity has been difficult to achieve, largely due to the requirement of using primary osteoblasts or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the progenitors of osteoblasts, to conduct time-consuming in vitro and in vivo osteogenic assay. Taking advantage of MSC osteogenic capacity and utilizing a promoter reporter assay for Runx2, the master osteogenesis transcription factor, we developed a rapid in vitro screening platform to screen osteogenic small molecules including natural plant-based compounds. We screened eight plant-derived compounds from different families including flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds, alkaloids, and isothiocyanates for osteogenic capacity using the human RUNX2-promoter luciferase reporter (hRUNX2-luc) transduced into the mouse MSC line, C3H10T1/2, with daidzein—a well-studied osteogenic phytoestrogen—as a positive control. Classical in vitro and in vivo osteogenesis assays were performed using primary murine and human bone marrow MSCs (BMMSCs) to validate the accuracy of this rapid screening platform. Using the MSC/hRUNX2-luc screening platform, we were able not only to shorten the selection process for osteogenic compounds from 3∼4 weeks to just a few days but also simultaneously perform comparisons between multiple compounds to assess relative osteogenic potency. Predictive analyses revealed nearly absolute correlation of the MSC/hRUNX2-luc reporter platform to the in vitro classical functional assay of mineralization using murine BMMSCs. Validation using human BMMSCs with in vitro mineralization and in vivo osteogenesis assays also demonstrated nearly absolute correlation to the MSC/hRUNX2-luc reporter results. Our findings therefore demonstrate that the MSC/hRUNX2 reporter platform can accurately, rapidly, and robustly screen for candidate osteogenic compounds and thus be relevant for therapeutic application in OP.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Liu ◽  
Dan Lin ◽  
Haiyang Zhang ◽  
Huiya Wang ◽  
Ting Deng ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUNDCancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is defined as a multifactorial syndrome including depletion of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Adipose tissue wasting, as a key characteristic of CAC, occurs early and is related with poor survival. However, the influence of exosomes on adipo-differentiation in CAC remained be mysterious.METHODSOil-red staining, western blotting, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to investigate the adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs from GC patients and healthy donors. Adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs treated with exosomes from GES-1 or GC cell lines was also detected. To further explore the effects of exosomal miR-155 on adipo-differentiation in vitro, we carried out luciferase reporter assay. Finally, to evaluate the function of exosomal miR-155 in vivo, BALB/c mice were subcutaneously transplanted with SGC7901 cells transfected with lentivirus containing a miR-155 overexpressing (miR-155 OE) sequence or miR-155 shRNA (miR-155 KO) or control lentivirus(NC) to observe the change of adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs.RESULTSWe showed that miR-155 was high expressed in adipose mesenchymal stem cells (A-MSCs) isolated from GC patients, which exhibited significantly suppressed adipo-differentiation. Mechanistically, targeting C/EPBβ and suppressing C/EPBα and PPARγ by GC exosomal miR-155 was demonstrated to be involved in impairing the differentiation of A-MSCs into adipocytes. The expression of C/EPBβ C/EPBα and PPARγ were rescued through downregulating miR-155 in GC exosomes. Moreover, overexpression of miR-155 improved cancer cachexia in tumor-implanted mice, charactered by weight loss, tumor progression and low expression of C/EPBβ, C/EPBα, and PPARγ in A-MSCs as well as FABP4 in tumor-related adipose tissue. Decreasing level of miR-155 in implanted tumor blocked the anti-adipogenic effects of GC. CONCLUSIONGC exosomsal miR-155 suppressed adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs via targeting C/EPBβ of A-MSCs plays a crucial role in CAC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanshun Liu ◽  
Binyu Wang ◽  
Ao Duan ◽  
Kai Shen ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant tumor originating from mesenchymal stem cells, and has an extremely high fatality rate and ability to metastasize. Although mounting evidence suggests that miR-769-5p is strongly associated with the malignant progression and poor prognosis of various tumors, the exact role of miR-769-5p in OS is still unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the relationship between miR-769-5p and the malignant progression of OS, and its underlying mechanism of action. Methods miR-769-5p expression was analyzed in GSE28423 from the GEO database and measured in OS clinical specimens and cell lines. The effects of miR-769-5p on OS proliferation, migration and invasion were measured both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the target genes of miR-769-5p. Rescue experiments were also conducted. Moreover, a co-culture model was used to test the cell interaction between bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) and OS cells. Results We found that miR-769-5p is highly expressed in OS clinical specimens and cell lines. In vivo and in vitro experiments also showed that miR-769-5p significantly promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells. Dual-specific phosphatase 16 (DUSP16) was negatively associated with miR-769-5p expression in OS cells and tissue samples and was validated as the downstream target by luciferase reporter assay and western blotting. Rescue experiments showed that DUSP16 reverses the effect of miR-769-5p on OS cells by negatively regulating the JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Additionally, the results of the co-culture of BMSCs and OS cells confirmed that miR-769-5p was transferred from BMSCs to OS cells through exosomes. Conclusions In summary, this study demonstrates for the first time that BMSC-derived exosomal miR-769-5p promotes OS proliferation and metastasis by targeting DUSP16 and activating the JNK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway, which could provide rationale for a new therapeutic strategy for OS.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Yao Lu ◽  
Yangming Mao ◽  
Yue Yu ◽  
Tianyu Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) activated with IFN-γ elicit more powerful physical effects. Exosomes (Exos) secreted from MSCs have protective against myocardial injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Exsos derived from IFN-γ-pretreated MSCs exhibit more potent cardioprotective function and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Exos were isolated from MSCs (Ctrl-Exo) and IFN-γ-primed MSCs (IFN-γ-Exo) and were then delivered to H9c2 cells or human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro under oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) condition or in vivo in an infarcted rat heart. RNA sequencing was to identify the different expressed functional transcription factor (TF). Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qPCR) was to confirm the upregulated TF and miRNA in IFN-γ-primed MSCs. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were to analyze the transcriptional regulation of miRNAs by STAT1. The target of miR-21-5p (miR-21) was disclosed by luciferase reporter assays and qPCR. The function of BTG2 was verified in vitro under OGD condition.Result: IFN-γ-Exo accelerated migration, tube-like structure formation, and prevented H9c2 from OGD-induced apoptosis. Similarly, IFN-γ-Exo leaded to further reduction in fibrosis size, reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and improved cardiac function compared to Ctrl-Exo. miR-21 was significantly upregulated in both IFN-γ-primed MSCs and IFN-γ-Exo. STAT1 transcriptionally induced miR-21 expression. Up-regulated miR-21 can inhibit the expression of BTG2. BTG2 promoted H9c2 cells apoptosis and reversed the protective effect of miR-21 under OGD environment.Conclusion: IFN-γ-Exo have enhanced therapeutic efficacy against acute MI possibly through promoting angiogenesis and anti-apoptotic effect through increasing the level of miR-21, which directly targeted on BTG2.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyu Mao ◽  
Lina Liu ◽  
Yamin Hu

Abstract Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a primary clinical manifestation of venous thromboembolism (VTE). It has been demonstrated that pulmonary endothelial cells (PECs) are apoptotic-resistance in PE. In this study, PECs were collected from PE patients and mouse models. Western blot, RT-PCR, flow cytometry, H&E and TUNEL assay, confocal and TEM microscopy, and luciferase reporter assay were performed to determine the effects of miR-28-3p on PECs apoptosis and if exosomes can act as the shuttle to transport miR-28-3p to PECs. Material and Methods The results revealed that apoptosis and miR-28-3p were downregulated in PECs of PE. The miR-28-3p mimics and inhibitor enhanced and further inhibited apoptosis in PECs, respectively. Results Both miR-28-3p-modified adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) and AMSC-derived exosomes upregulated miR-28-3p expression in PECs, leading to elevated apoptosis of PECs. Apoptosis inhibitor 5 (API5) was a direct target gene of miR-28-3p, and the overexpression of API5 in miR-28-3p-modified PECs further suppressed apoptosis. Conclusions Furthermore, the administration of miR-28-3p-modified exosomes to PE mouse model promoted apoptosis in PECs. In conclusion, exosomal miR-28-3p could ameliorate PE-associated apoptosis-resistance in PECs through targeting API5 in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, AMSCs-derived exosome is a promising way to deliver functioning miRNA to PECs, providing insight into novel therapy of PE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yongsheng Zeng ◽  
Chengcheng Du ◽  
Pengcheng Xiao ◽  
Yiting Lei ◽  
Piao Zhao ◽  
...  

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) induces effective chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by promoting Sox9 expression. However, BMP2 also induces chondrocyte hypertrophy and endochondral ossification by upregulating Smad7 expression, which leads to the disruption of chondrogenesis. In addition, Smad7 can be inhibited by Sox9. Therefore, the underlying mechanism is not clear. Currently, an increasing number of studies have shown that microRNAs play a pivotal role in chondrogenic and pathophysiological processes of cartilage. The purpose of this study was to determine which microRNA is increased by Sox9 and targets Smad7, thus assisting BMP2 in maintaining stable chondrogenesis. We found that miR-322-5p meets the requirement through next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatic analysis. The targeting relationship between miR-322-5p and Smad7 was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assays, qPCR, and western blotting (WB). The in vitro study indicated that overexpression of miR-322-5p significantly inhibited Smad7 expression, thus causing increased chondrogenic differentiation and decreased hypertrophic differentiation, while silencing of miR-322-5p led to the opposite results. Flow cytometry (FCM) analysis indicated that overexpression of miR-322-5p significantly decreased the rate of early apoptosis in BMP2-stimulated MSCs, while silencing of miR-322-5p increased the rate. A mouse limb explant assay revealed that the expression of miR-322-5p was negatively correlated with the length of the BMP2-stimulated hypertrophic zone of the growth plate. An in vivo study also confirmed that miR-322-5p assisted BMP2 in chondrogenic differentiation. Taken together, our results suggested that Sox9-increased miR-322-5p expression can promote BMP2-induced chondrogenesis by targeting Smad7, which can be exploited for effective tissue engineering of cartilage.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Liu ◽  
Dan Lin ◽  
Huiya Wang ◽  
Haiyang Zhang ◽  
Ting Deng ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is defined as a multifactorial syndrome including depletion of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Adipose tissue wasting, as a key characteristic of CAC, occurs early and is related with poor survival. However, the influence of exosomes on adipo-differentiation in CAC remained be mysterious.METHODS: Oil-red staining, western blotting, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to investigate the adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs from GC patients and healthy donors. Adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs treated with exosomes from GES-1 or GC cell lines was also detected. To further explore the effects of exosomal miR-155 on adipo-differentiation in vitro, we carried out luciferase reporter assay. Finally, to evaluate the function of exosomal miR-155 in vivo, BALB/c mice were subcutaneously transplanted with SGC7901 cells transfected with lentivirus containing a miR-155 overexpressing (miR-155 OE) sequence or miR-155 shRNA (miR-155 KO) or control lentivirus(NC) to observe the change of adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs.RESULTS: We showed that miR-155 was high expressed in adipose mesenchymal stem cells (A-MSCs) isolated from GC patients, which exhibited significantly suppressed adipo-differentiation. Mechanistically, targeting C/EPBβ and suppressing C/EPBα and PPARγ by GC exosomal miR-155 was demonstrated to be involved in impairing the differentiation of A-MSCs into adipocytes. The expression of C/EPBβ C/EPBα and PPARγ were rescued through downregulating miR-155 in GC exosomes. Moreover, overexpression of miR-155 improved cancer cachexia in tumor-implanted mice, charactered by weight loss, tumor progression and low expression of C/EPBβ, C/EPBα, and PPARγ in A-MSCs as well as FABP4 in tumor-related adipose tissue. Decreasing level of miR-155 in implanted tumor blocked the anti-adipogenic effects of GC. CONCLUSION: GC exosomsal miR-155 suppressed adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs via targeting C/EPBβ of A-MSCs plays a crucial role in CAC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Liu ◽  
Dan Lin ◽  
Huiya Wang ◽  
Haiyang Zhang ◽  
Ting Deng ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is defined as a multifactorial syndrome including depletion of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Adipose tissue wasting, as a key characteristic of CAC, occurs early and is related with poor survival. However, the influence of exosomes on adipo-differentiation in CAC remained be mysterious.METHODS: Oil-red staining, western blotting, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to investigate the adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs from GC patients and healthy donors. Adipo-differentiation capacity of A-MSCs treated with exosomes from GES-1 or GC cell lines was also detected. To further explore the effects of exosomal miR-155 on adipo-differentiation in vitro, we carried out luciferase reporter assay. Finally, to evaluate the function of exosomal miR-155 in vivo, BALB/c mice were subcutaneously transplanted with SGC7901 cells transfected with lentivirus containing a miR-155 overexpressing (miR-155 OE) sequence or miR-155 shRNA (miR-155 KO) or control lentivirus(NC) to observe the change of adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs.RESULTS: We showed that miR-155 was high expressed in adipose mesenchymal stem cells (A-MSCs) isolated from GC patients, which exhibited significantly suppressed adipo-differentiation. Mechanistically, targeting C/EPBβ and suppressing C/EPBα and PPARγ by GC exosomal miR-155 was demonstrated to be involved in impairing the differentiation of A-MSCs into adipocytes. The expression of C/EPBβ C/EPBα and PPARγ were rescued through downregulating miR-155 in GC exosomes. Moreover, overexpression of miR-155 improved cancer cachexia in tumor-implanted mice, charactered by weight loss, tumor progression and low expression of C/EPBβ, C/EPBα, and PPARγ in A-MSCs as well as FABP4 in tumor-related adipose tissue. Decreasing level of miR-155 in implanted tumor blocked the anti-adipogenic effects of GC. CONCLUSION: GC exosomsal miR-155 suppressed adipo-differentiation of A-MSCs via targeting C/EPBβ of A-MSCs plays a crucial role in CAC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 350-355

Introduction: There is evidence that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could trans-differentiate into the liver cells in vitro and in vivo and thus may be used as an unfailing source for stem cell therapy of liver disease. Combination of MSCs (with or without their differentiation in vitro) and minimally invasive procedures as laparoscopy or Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) represents a chance for many patients waiting for liver transplantation in vain. Methods: Over 30 millions of autologous MSCs at passage 3 were transplanted via the portal vein in an eight months old miniature pig. The deposition of transplanted cells in liver parenchyma was evaluated histologically and the trans-differential potential of CM-DiI labeled cells was assessed by expression of pig albumin using immunofluorescence. Results: Three weeks after transplantation we detected the labeled cells (solitary, small clusters) in all 10 samples (2 samples from each lobe) but no diffuse distribution in the samples. The localization of CM-DiI+ cells was predominantly observed around the portal triads. We also detected the localization of albumin signal in CM-DiI labeled cells. Conclusion: The study results showed that the autologous MSCs (without additional hepatic differentiation in vitro) transplantation through the portal vein led to successful infiltration of intact miniature pig liver parenchyma with detectable in vivo trans-differentiation. NOTES as well as other newly developed surgical approaches in combination with cell therapy seem to be very promising for the treatment of hepatic diseases in near future.


Author(s):  
Bruna O. S. Câmara ◽  
Bruno M. Bertassoli ◽  
Natália M. Ocarino ◽  
Rogéria Serakides

The use of stem cells in cell therapies has shown promising results in the treatment of several diseases, including diabetes mellitus, in both humans and animals. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from various locations, including bone marrow, adipose tissues, synovia, muscles, dental pulp, umbilical cords, and the placenta. In vitro, by manipulating the composition of the culture medium or transfection, MSCs can differentiate into several cell lineages, including insulin-producing cells (IPCs). Unlike osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic differentiation, for which the culture medium and time are similar between studies, studies involving the induction of MSC differentiation in IPCs differ greatly. This divergence is usually evident in relation to the differentiation technique used, the composition of the culture medium, the cultivation time, which can vary from a few hours to several months, and the number of steps to complete differentiation. However, although there is no “gold standard” differentiation medium composition, most prominent studies mention the use of nicotinamide, exedin-4, ß-mercaptoethanol, fibroblast growth factor b (FGFb), and glucose in the culture medium to promote the differentiation of MSCs into IPCs. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to investigate the stages of MSC differentiation into IPCs both in vivo and in vitro, as well as address differentiation techniques and molecular actions and mechanisms by which some substances, such as nicotinamide, exedin-4, ßmercaptoethanol, FGFb, and glucose, participate in the differentiation process.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula E. Florian ◽  
Liviu Duta ◽  
Valentina Grumezescu ◽  
Gianina Popescu-Pelin ◽  
Andrei C. Popescu ◽  
...  

This study is focused on the adhesion and differentiation of the human primary mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) to osteoblasts lineage on biological-derived hydroxyapatite (BHA) and lithium-doped BHA (BHA:LiP) coatings synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition. An optimum adhesion of the cells on the surface of BHA:LiP coatings compared to control (uncoated Ti) was demonstrated using immunofluorescence labelling of actin and vinculin, two proteins involved in the initiation of the cell adhesion process. BHA:LiP coatings were also found to favor the differentiation of the hMSC towards an osteoblastic phenotype in the presence of osteoinductive medium, as revealed by the evaluation of osteoblast-specific markers, osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase. Numerous nodules of mineralization secreted from osteoblast cells grown on the surface of BHA:LiP coatings and a 3D network-like organization of cells interconnected into the extracellular matrix were evidenced. These findings highlight the good biocompatibility of the BHA coatings and demonstrate that the use of lithium as a doping agent results in an enhanced osteointegration potential of the synthesized biomaterials, which might therefore represent viable candidates for future in vivo applications.


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