Mechanism of ischemic brain injury repair by endothelial progenitor cell ‑derived exosomes

Mol Med Rep. 2022 Aug;26(2):269. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2022.12785. Epub 2022 Jul 1.ABSTRACTIschemic stroke is a refractory disease that seriously endangers human health and life. The main treatment aim of stroke is to alleviate brain injury. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of endothelial progenitor cell (EPC)‑derived exosomes in repairing ischemic brain injury. Sprague‑Dawley rat models of cerebral ischemia‑reperfusion (IR) injury were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion. The IR model rats were then treated with PBS, EPC or exosomes; untreated and Sham rats were used as control. EPCs were obtained from tibias and femurs, and exosomes were isolated from the EPCs and characterized. To measure brain injury, 2,3,5‑triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining was used to measure the infarct area, neurological deficit was scored, hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to examine pathological changes and TUNEL staining was used to quantify apoptosis. Immunofluorescence staining and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR were used to determine CD31 and VEGF protein and mRNA expressions, respectively, and western blot analysis was used out to measure the protein expression levels of Wnt3a, GSK‑3β and phosphorylated (p)‑GSK‑3β. Compared with rats in the Control and Sham groups, in IR model rats the nerve fibers were slightly necrotic and swollen and the number of nerve cells was reduced. Following EPC treatment, the brain tissue exh...
Source: Molecular Medicine - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Source Type: research