Potential role of human umbilical cord stem cells-derived exosomes as novel molecular inhibitors of hepatocellular carcinoma growth

In this study, we investigated the effects of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) derived exosomes on HepG2 cell line, and the underlying mechanism to control HCC proliferation, to identify the potential clinical role of exosomes as a novel molecular therapeutic target. Proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis effects were assessed together with the cell viability evaluation by MTT assay in HepG2 cells at 24/48  h. with or without UC-MSCs-derived exosomes. Gene expressions of TNF-α, caspase-3, VEGF, stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), and CX chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR-4) were measured by quantitative real-time PCR technique. Expression of sirtuin-1 (SIRT-1) protein was detected by western blot. Treatm ent of HepG2 cells with UC-MSCs-derived exosomes for 24 and 48 h. demonstrated a significant reduction of cells survival compared to the control group (p <  0.05). The SIRT-1 protein, and VEGF, SDF-1, CXCR-4 expression levels were significantly lower, TNF-α and caspase-3 expression levels were significantly higher in exosomal-treated HepG2 cells for 24 and 48 h. than those in the control group. Moreover, our findings documented that the anti-prolif erative, apoptotic, and anti-angiogenic effects were achieved in a time-dependent manner in which more effects were determined after 48 h supplementation compared to 24 h (p <  0.05). UC-MSCs-derived exosomes exert anticarcinogenic molecular effects on HepG2 cells through the involvement of SIRT-1...
Source: Apoptosis - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research