ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of adipose-derived stem cell released exosomes (ADSC-Exos) on wound healing in diabetic mice.MethodsThe ADSCs were isolated from the adipose tissue donated by the patients and cultured by enzymatic digestion. The supernatant of the 3rd generation ADSCs was used to extract Exos (ADSC-Exos). The morphology of ADSC-Exos was observed by transmission electron microscopy. The membrane-labeled proteins (Alix and CD63) were detected by Western blot, and the particle size distribution was detected by nanoparticle tracking analyzer. The fibroblasts were isolated from the skin tissue donated by the patients and cultured by enzymatic digestion. The 5th generation fibroblasts were cultured with PKH26-labeled ADSC-Exos, and observed by confocal fluorescence microscopy. The effects of ADSC-Exos on proliferation and migration of fibroblasts were observed with cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) and scratch method. Twenty-four 8-week-old Balb/c male mice were used to prepare a diabetic model. A full-thickness skin defect of 8 mm in diameter was prepared on the back. And 0.2 mL of ADSC-Exos and PBS were injected into the dermis of the experimental group (n=12) and the control group (n=12), respectively. On the 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th, 16th, and 21st days, the wound healing was observed and the wound healing rate was calculated. On the 7th, 14th, and 21st days, the histology (HE and Masson) and CD31 immunohistochemical staining were performed to observe the wound structure, collagen fibers, and neovascularization.ResultsADSC-Exos were the membranous vesicles with clear edges and uniform size; the particle size was 40-200 nm with an average of 102.1 nm; the membrane-labeled proteins (Alix and CD63) were positive. The composite culture observation showed that ADSC-Exos could enter the fibroblasts and promote the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts. Animal experiments showed that the wound healing of the experimental group was significantly faster than that of the control group, and the wound healing rate was significantly different at each time point (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the wound healing of the experimental group was better. There were more microvessels in the early healing stage, and more deposited collagen fibers in the late healing stage. There were significant differences in the length of wound on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days, the number of microvessels on the 7th and 14th days, and the rate of deposited collagen fibers on the 14th and 21st days between the two groups (P<0.05).ConclusionADSC-Exos can promote the wound healing in diabetic mice by promoting angiogenesis and proliferation and migration of fibroblasts and collagen synthesis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Wnt5a derived from tumor-associated fibroblasts （CAFs） on the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells. MethodsThe differentially expressed genes Wnt5a between CAFs and normal gastric fibroblasts (NGFs) in gastric cancer tissues and their corresponding normal gastric tissues using the GEO database GSE194261 dataset were screened. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of Wnt5a protein in tissue samples of clinical gastric cancer patients, and the relationship between Wnt5a protein expression and clinicopathological features of gastric cancer was analyzed. CAFs and NGFs were extracted from fresh surgical specimens of gastric cancer patients, and the expression of Wnt5a in CAFs was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot experiment. Transwell invasion and migration experiment was used to observe the effects of CAFs, inhibition of Wnt5a expression in CAFs and different concentrations of recombinant Wnt5a protein on the migration and invasion ability of gastric cancer MGC-803 and MKN-28 cell lines in vitro. ResultsThrough the screening of GEO database GSE194261 data set, it was found that Wnt5a was more expressed in CAFs than NGFs (P<0.05). Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of Wnt5a protein in gastric cancer tissues was significantly stronger than that in normal gastric tissues (P<0.05), and the expression of Wnt5a protein was related to T stage of tumor (χ2=5.035, P<0.05), but not related to gender, age, degree of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion and nerve invasion (P>0.05). Inhibiting Wnt5a derived from CAFs could inhibit the invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells. By stimulating gastric cancer cells with different concentrations of human recombinant Wnt5a protein, it was found that when the concentration of human recombinant Wnt5a protein was greater than 100 ng/mL, the invasion and migration abilities of MGC-803 and MKN-28 gastric cancer cells were significantly increased (P<0.05). ConclusionWnt5a is highly expressed in CAFs derived from the interstitial tissue of gastric cancer, which is related to the invasion depth of gastric cancer and can promote the invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells.
ObjectiveTo summarize the latest research progress and related mechanisms of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in invasion, metastasis and drug resistance of breast cancer, so as to seek the best treatment strategy for patients with breast cancer metastasis and drug resistance. MethodThe literatures about CAFs research in breast cancer in recent years were searched and summarized. ResultsCAFs was the main stromal cell in tumor microenvironment (TME). By changing TME, the biological characteristics of CAFs could be changed and the growth and invasion of breast cancer cells could be induced. CAFs in breast cancer promotes the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells by interacting with inflammatory factors and promoting the formation of pre-transplantation ecosystems, and CAFs also mediates chemotherapy resistance to breast cancer, target resistance, endocrine resistance, and radiation resistance through the secretion of various cellular factors. ConclusionsAt present, some progress has been made in the research of CAFs in breast cancer, but there is still a certain gap to clinical application CAFs has a variety of functional phenotypes, so it is necessary to identify and characterize specific CAFs subtypes when studying new anti-CAFs therapeutic strategies. It has been proved that CAFs has great potential as a specific target for breast cancer treatment, but CAFs still lacks specific biomarkers. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the biological characteristics and heterogeneity of CAFs can provide a reliable theoretical basis for developing drugs targeting CAFs.
Objective To investigate the effects of NGF on the prol iferation, mitotic cycle, collagen synthesis and migration of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs), and to explore the function of NGF on the wound heal ing. Methods The 3rd generation of HDFs were incubated with various concentrations of NGF (0, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 ng/mL), the cell prol iferation was measured with MTT assay. After treated with NGF at 0, 100 ng/mL, the cell cycle of HDFs was determined by flow cytometry (FCM). Hydroxyprol ine and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) were used to measure collagen synthesis at protein level and mRNA level respectively. The in vitro cell scratch wound model was set up to observe the effect of NGF (0, 50, 100 and 200 ng/mL) on the migration of HDFs after 24 hours of culture. Results Absorbance value of HDFs for different concentrations of NGF (0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ng/ mL) showed that NGF did not influence the prol iferation of HDFs (P gt; 0.05). When HDFs were treated with NGF at 0 and 100 ng/mL, the result of FCM analysis showed that percentage of HDFs in G0/G1, S, G2/M phases were not changed (P gt; 0.05). Compared with control group, the expression of Col I and Col III were not significantly different, measured by both hydroxyprol ine and FQ-PCR (P gt; 0.05). The rates of HDFs’ migration at various concentrations of NGF (0, 50, 100, 200 ng/ mL) were 52.12% ± 6.50%, 80.67% ± 8.51%, 66.33% ± 3.58%, and 61.19% ± 0.97%, respectively, indicating that NGF could significantly enhanced the migration of HDFs at 50 and 100 ng/mL (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion NGF does not influence prol iferation, mitotic cycle and collagen synthesis of HDFs, but significantly enhanced migration in an in vitro model of wounded fibroblasts.
The aim of this article is to study the effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) on the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in keratoconus fibroblasts in vitro. Normal cornea and keratoconus fibroblasts were extracted using enzyme digestion method and were cultured in the medium containing TNF-α (0, 10 and 100 ng/mL). The expression of MMPs proteins in the supernatant of corneal fibroblasts and the expression of TIMPs in the normal cornea and keratoconus fibroblasts were detected by Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction respectively. The active form of MMP1 could be detected in the supernatant of keratoconus fibroblasts and upregulated by TNF-α. TNF-α could increase the protein expression of MMP2, MMP3, MMP9 in the supernatant of keratoconus fibroblasts and decrease the gene expression of TIMP1, TIMP2 in keratoconus fibroblasts. The increased MMPs and the decreased TIMPs can increase the degradation of the extracellular matrix. TNF-α may play an important role in the occurrence and development of keratoconus by regulating the expression of MMPs/TIMPs.
ObjectiveTo optimize the culture method of human primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and investigate the effect of CAFs on the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro and tumor formation in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model.MethodsThe PDAC specimens were collected and primarily cultured. In order to observe the effect of CAFs on the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro, the CAFs were co-cultured with primary PDAC cells consistently and the alone cultured primary PDAC cells served as the control. Then, these cells were injected into the shoulder blades of NOG mice in order to develop the PDX model.ResultsWhen the primary PDAC cells separated from the CAFs, the proliferation capacity of the primary PDAC decreased rapidly in the passage culture in vitro, and the most cells were terminated within 5 generations. By contrast, when the CAFs co-cultured with the primary PDAC cells, the proliferation capacity of primary PDAC cells were preserved, which could be stably transferred to at least 10 generations. The tumors of NOG mice were detected during 2–3 weeks after injecting the mixed cells (primary PDAC plus CAFs), while had no tumor formation after injecting CAFs alone. The rate of tumor was 92.9% (13 cases) in the primary PDAC plus CAFs group, which was higher than that of the CAFs alone group (64.3%, 9 cases), but there was no statistical difference because of the small sample size. The volume of tumor in the primary PDAC plus CAFs group at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the tumor cells injection was significantly larger than that in the CAFs alone group at the corresponding time point, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01).ConclusionsThe CAFs could promote the growth of primary PDAC cells in vitro. This new method of co-culture CAFs with primary PDAC could improve the success rate of primary PDAC cells culture and improve the success rate of PDX model in NOG mice.
Objective To investigate the role and mechanism of S100 calcium binding protein B (S100B) in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage damage repair. Methods Twenty New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into control group and model group, with 10 rabbits in each group. Rabbits in the model group were injured by the right knee joint immobilization method to make the artilage injury model, while the control group did not deal with any injury. After 4 weeks, the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in synovial fluid were detected by ELISA method; the mRNA and protein expressions of S100B, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), and FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) in cartilage tissue were examined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot assay. Human synovial fibroblasts (SF) were isolated and cultured in vitro. The effects of S100B overexpression and knockdown on the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α (ELISA method) and the expressions of FGF-2 and FGFR1 gene (qRT-PCR) and protein (Western blot) were observed. Moreover, the effects of FGFR1 knockdown in above S100 overexpression system on the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α (ELISA method) and the expressions of FGF-2 and FGFR1 gene (qRT-PCR) and protein (Western blot) were observed. Results ELISA detection showed that the expressions of IL-1β and TNF-α in the synovial fluid of the model group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05); qRT-PCR and Western blot detection showed that the mRNA and protein expressions of S100B, FGF-2, and FGFR1 in cartilage tissue were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). Overexpression and knockdown S100 could respectively significantly increase and decrease lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced IL-1β and TNF-α levels elevation and the mRNA and protein expressions of FGF-2 and FGFR1 (P<0.05); whereas FGFR1 knockdown could significantly decrease LPS induced IL-1β and TNF-α levels elevation and the mRNA and protein expressions of FGF-2 and FGFR1 (P<0.05). Conclusion S100B protein can regulate the inflammatory response of SF and may affect the repair of cartilage damage in OA, and the mechanism may be related to the activation of FGF-2/FGFR1 signaling pathway.
ObjectiveTo explore if Smad7 protein can inhibit growth of keloids by observing the gene and protein expressions of Smad7, collagen type Ⅰ, and collagen type Ⅲ and cell proliferation after over-expression vectors of Smad7 transfecting keloid fibroblasts (KFb). MethodsFibroblasts were acquired from 10 male patient with keloids at the age of 20 to 25 years. After in vitro culture, KFb were divided into 3 groups: untransfected group (group A), pcDNA3.1 (-) transfected group (group B), and pcDNA3.1 (-)-smad7 transfected group (group C). The mRNA and protein expression levels of Smad7, collagen type Ⅰ, and collagen type Ⅲ were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot at 48 hours after transfection. The cell proliferation ability was detected by MTT assay at 24 hours after transfection. ResultsThe relative expression levels of mRNA and protein of Smad7 in group C were significantly higher than those in group A and group B (P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of mRNA and protein of collagen type Ⅰ and collagen type Ⅲ in group C were significantly lower than those in group A and group B (P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of mRNA of collagen type Ⅰ and collagen type Ⅲ in group B were significantly higher than those in group A (P < 0.01); and the relative expression levels of proteins of Smad7, collagen type Ⅰ, and collagen type Ⅲ were significantly lower than those in group A (P < 0.01). The cell proliferation ability in group C was significantly lower than that in group A and group B at each time point by MTT assay (P < 0.05), but no difference was found between group A and group B (P>0.05). ConclusionGene expressions of collagen type Ⅰ, and collagen type Ⅲ and cell proliferation will be inhibited after KFb are transfected by over-expression vector of Smad7.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of microRNA-135a (miR-135a) in human amnion mesenchymal stem cell exosome (hAMSC-Exo) on the migration of fibroblasts.MethodsThe hAMSC-Exo was extracted with exosomes separation kit and identified, the effect of hAMSC-Exo on fibroblasts migration was detected by scratch test. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the relative expression of miR-135a gene in hAMSC-Exo after overexpression of miR-135a. Scratch test was used to detect the effect of hAMSC-Exo on the migration of fibroblasts after overexpression and knockdown of miR-135a. Western blot was used to detect the migration related proteins of fibroblasts [large tumor suppressor 2 (LATS2), E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)] after overexpression and knockdown of miR-135a. The 293T cell exosomes and hAMSC-Exo were used as control.ResultshAMSC-Exos were extracted successfully. Scratch test results showed that hAMSC group had the strongest ability to promote fibroblasts migration, and GW4869 (exosome inhibitor) treatment group had reduced ability to promote fibroblasts migration. qRT-PCR test showed that the relative expression of miR-135a gene in hAMSC-Exo increased significantly after over expression of miR-135a. Scratch test results showed that after over expression of miR-135a, hAMSC-Exo enhanced the migration ability of fibroblasts, while after knockdown of miR-135a, hAMSC-Exo weakened the migration ability of fibroblasts. Western blot results showed that the expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, LATS2 were down regulated and α-SMA was up regulated in each hAMSC-Exo treatment group when compared with 293T cell exosomes group; after over expression of miR-135a, hAMSC-Exo decreased the expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, LATS2 and increased the expression of α-SMA; while after knockdown of miR-135a, the ability of hAMSC-Exo was weakened.ConclusionmiR-135a in hAMSC-Exo can promote fibroblasts’ migration, inhibit the expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, LATS2, and promote the expression of α-SMA.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Smad4 on the fibrosis of tendon derived fibroblasts (TDFs) induced by transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1) by targeted regulation of miRNA219-5P (miR219-5P). MethodsThe tendons donated by the volunteers were harvested to isolate and culture TDFs. The 3rd generation cells were used for experiment. Chemically synthesized miR219-5P mimics, miR219-5P inhibitor, and negative control sequences were transfected into TDFs. The gene expression of miR219-5P in TDFs was detected by real-time PCR, and the protein expression of Smad4 in TDFs was detected by Western blot at 48 hours after transfection. The combining sites of miR219-5P and Smad4 in 3'UTR district were predicted by informatics software. Wild type and mutant type reporter gene expression vectors were constructed and then targeted verification was carried out by the luciferase reporter gene test. Transfected TDFs were then induced by TGF-β1. The proliferation activity of the cells were measured by the cell counting kit 8 after culturing for 24, 48, and 72 hours. The expressions of fibrosis related proteins in TDFs were detected by Western blot at 72 hours. ResultsAfter TDFs were transfected by miR219-5P mimics, miR219-5P expression was significantly up-regulated, but the expressions of Smad4 was decreased subsequently (P<0.05). Intracellular expression of miR219-5P was inhibited by miR219-5P mimics inhibitor, however, the protein expression of Smad4 was significantly increased (P<0.05). Luciferase reporter gene test showed that luciferase activities were significantly decreased in pGL3-WT-Smad4+mimics group, but were significantly increased in pGL3-WT-Smad4+inhibitor group when compared with pGL3-WT-Smad4 transfected group (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found between GL3-MT-Smad4+mimics and pGL3-MT-Smad4+inhibitor groups (P>0.05). Cell proliferation and the fibrosis related proteins were increased in TGF-β1 induced TDFs, however, decreased in TGF-β1 induced TDFs after transfected by miR219-5P inhibitor (P<0.01). ConclusionmiR219-5P can significantly inhibit fibrosis of TDFs induced by TGF-β1 by down-regulating Smad4 expression.