Abstract
Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)-derived exosomes show great therapeutic potential for SCI. Exosomes derived from miR-26a-modified MSCs promote axonal regeneration following SCI. Our study aims to uncover the mechanisms by which BMSC-derived exosomes carrying miR-26a-5p regulate SCI. Methods: BMSCs and BMSC-derived exosomes were isolated and characterized by Oil Red O and alizarin red staining, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, nanoparticle tracking analysis and Western blotting. PC12 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and SCI was established through laminectomy with contusion injury in rats. Annexin-V staining, CCK-8 and EdU incorporation were applied to determine cell apoptosis, viability, and proliferation. Hematoxylin and Eosin, Nissl and TUNEL staining was used to evaluate SCI injury and apoptosis in the spinal cord. Luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were applied to evaluate gene interaction. Results: BMSC-derived exosomes facilitated LPS-treated PC12 cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis by delivering miR-26a-5p. Moreover, BMSC-derived exosomal miR-26a-5p alleviated SCI. Furthermore, miR-26a-5p inhibited EZH2 expression by directly binding to EZH2, and EZH2 inhibited BDNF expression via promoting H3K27me3. Increased phosphorylated CREB enhanced KCC2 transcription and expression by binding to its promoter. Knockdown of miR-26a-5p abrogated BMSC-derived exosome-mediated protection in LPS-treated PC12 cells, but it was reversed by KCC2 overexpression. Conclusion: BMSC-derived exosomes carrying miR-26a-5p repressed EZH2 expression to promote BDNF and TrkB expression and CREB phosphorylation and subsequently increase KCC2 expression, thus protecting PC12 cells and ameliorating SCI.
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This work was supported by Fujian Provincial Health Technology Youth Project [2021QNA077] and Startup Fund for scientific research, Fujian Medical University (Grant number: 2021QH1045).
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Min Chen: Conceptualization; Methodology; Data Curation; Writing - Original Draft; Yu Lin: Validation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Resources;
Wenbin Guo: Visualization; Supervision;
Lihui Chen: Writing - Review & Editing; Project administration; Funding acquisition.
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12035_2024_4082_MOESM1_ESM.tif
Supplementary Material 1: Fig. 1. BMSC-exosomes Derived from SCI rats Showed Decreased miR-26a-5p Level The expression of miR-26a-5p in BMSC-exosomes derived from sham or SCI rats was determined with RT-qPCR (n = 6 per group). **p < 0.01.
12035_2024_4082_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Supplementary Material 2: Fig. 2. miR-26a-5p Agomir Improved SCI in rats Rats were divided into Sham, SCI, SCI + agomir NC and SCI + miR-26a-5p agomir groups. (A) miR-26a-5p was examined with RT-qPCR (n = 6 per group). (B) H&E staining of the spinal cord and pathological score (n = 6 per group). Scale bar: 50 μm. (C) Nissl staining of the spinal cord. Scale bar: 50 μm. (D) Cell apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL assays (n = 6 per group). Scale bar: 50 μm. (E and F) Western blot analysis of Bax, Bcl2, cleaved caspase 3, caspase 3, EZH2, BDNF, TrkB, p-CREB, CREB and KCC2. **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.
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Chen, M., Lin, Y., Guo, W. et al. BMSC-Derived Exosomes Carrying miR-26a-5p Ameliorate Spinal Cord Injury via Negatively Regulating EZH2 and Activating the BDNF-TrkB-CREB Signaling. Mol Neurobiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-024-04082-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-024-04082-y