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Wang BYH, Hsiao AWT, Shiu HT, Wong N, Wang AYF, Lee CW, Lee OKS, Lee WYW. Mesenchymal stem cells alleviate dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy in mice and the involvement of ERK1/2 signalling pathway. Stem Cell Res Ther 2023; 14:195. [PMID: 37542297 PMCID: PMC10403871 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-023-03418-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High dosage of dexamethasone (Dex) is an effective treatment for multiple diseases; however, it is often associated with severe side effects including muscle atrophy, resulting in higher risk of falls and poorer life quality of patients. Cell therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) holds promise for regenerative medicine. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of systemic administration of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) in mitigating the loss of muscle mass and strength in mouse model of DEX-induced muscle atrophy. METHODS 3-month-old female C57BL/6 mice were treated with Dex (20 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) for 10 days to induce muscle atrophy, then subjected to intravenous injection of a single dose of ADSCs ([Formula: see text] cells/kg body weight) or vehicle control. The mice were killed 7 days after ADSCs treatment. Body compositions were measured by animal DXA, gastrocnemius muscle was isolated for ex vivo muscle functional test, histological assessment and Western blot, while tibialis anterior muscles were isolated for RNA-sequencing and qPCR. For in vitro study, C2C12 myoblast cells were cultured under myogenic differentiation medium for 5 days following 100 [Formula: see text]M Dex treatment with or without ADSC-conditioned medium for another 4 days. Samples were collected for qPCR analysis and Western blot analysis. Myotube morphology was measured by myosin heavy chain immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS ADSC treatment significantly increased body lean mass (10-20%), muscle wet weight (15-30%) and cross-sectional area (CSA) (~ 33%) in DEX-induced muscle atrophy mice model and down-regulated muscle atrophy-associated genes expression (45-65%). Hindlimb grip strength (~ 37%) and forelimb ex vivo muscle contraction property were significantly improved (~ 57%) in the treatment group. Significant increase in type I fibres (~ 77%) was found after ADSC injection. RNA-sequencing results suggested that ERK1/2 signalling pathway might be playing important role underlying the beneficial effect of ADSC treatment, which was confirmed by ERK1/2 inhibitor both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS ADSCs restore the pathogenesis of Dex-induced muscle atrophy with an increased number of type I fibres, stronger muscle strength, faster recovery rate and more anti-fatigue ability via ERK1/2 signalling pathway. The inhibition of muscle atrophy-associated genes by ADSCs offered this treatment as an intervention option for muscle-associated diseases. Taken together, our findings suggested that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy could be a new treatment option for patient with Dex-induced muscle atrophy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belle Yu-Hsuan Wang
- Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, CUHK InnoHK Centres, Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Allen Wei-Ting Hsiao
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Hoi Ting Shiu
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Nicodemus Wong
- Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, CUHK InnoHK Centres, Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Amanda Yu-Fan Wang
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Chien-Wei Lee
- Center for Translational Genomics and Regenerative Medicine Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, China Medical University, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan.
| | - Oscar Kuang-Sheng Lee
- Center for Translational Genomics and Regenerative Medicine Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan.
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Orthopedics, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404327, Taiwan.
| | - Wayne Yuk-Wai Lee
- Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, CUHK InnoHK Centres, Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong.
- Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory, SH Ho Scoliosis Research Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
- Joint Scoliosis Research Centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
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