Fucoxanthin Enhances the Antifibrotic Potential of Placenta-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a CCl4-induced Mouse Model of Liver

Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth-Derived Exosomes for the Treatment of Acute Liver Injury and Liver Fibrosis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a crucial role in regenerative medicine due to their regenerative potential. However, traditional MSC-based therapies are hindered by issues such as microvascular obstruction and low cell survival after transplantation. Exosomes derived from MSCs (MSC-Exo) provide a cell-free, nanoscale alternative, mitigating these risks and offering therapeutic potential for liver diseases. Nonetheless, the functional variability of MSCs from different sources complicates their clinical application. Stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) offer advantages such as ease of procurement and robust proliferative capacity, but their secretome, particularly SHED-Exo, remains underexplored in the context of liver disease therapy. This study analyzed MSC-Exo from various sources via small RNA sequencing to identify differences in microRNA profiles, aiding in the selection of optimal MSC sources for clinical use. SHED-Exo was subsequently tested in an acute liver injury model, showing notable regenerative effects, including enhanced hepatocyte proliferation, macrophage polarization, and reduced inflammation. Despite strong liver-targeting properties, the rapid hepatic clearance of SHED-Exo limits its effectiveness in chronic liver diseases. To address this challenge, a GelMA-based hydrogel was developed for in situ delivery, ensuring sustained release and enhanced antifibrotic efficacy, providing a promising strategy for chronic liver disease management.

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for liver fibrosis need "partner": Results based on a meta-analysis of preclinical studies

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in treating liver fibrosis has been demonstrated in several clinical studies. However, their low survival and liver implantation rates remain problematic. In recent years, a large number of studies in animal models of liver fibrosis have shown that MSCs combined with drugs can improve the efficacy of MSCs in the treatment of liver fibrosis alone and inhibit its progression to end-stage liver disease. This has inspired new ways of thinking about treating liver fibrosis.

AIM

To investigate the effectiveness and mechanisms of MSCs combined with drugs in treating liver fibrosis.

METHODS

Data sources included four electronic databases and were constructed until January 2024. The subjects, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study design principle were used to screen the literature, and the quality of the literature was evaluated to assess the risk of bias. Relevant randomised controlled trials were selected, and the final 13 studies were included in the final study.

RESULTS

A total of 13 studies were included after screening. Pooled analysis showed that MSCs combined with drug therapy significantly improved liver function, promoted the repair of damaged liver tissues, reduced the level of liver fibrosis-related indexes, and effectively ameliorated hepatic fibrosis by modulating the hepatic inflammatory microenvironment, promoting the homing of MSCs, and regulating the relevant signaling pathways, and the treatment efficacy was superior to MSCs alone. However, the combined treatment statistics showed no ame-lioration in serum albumin levels (standardized mean difference = 0.77, 95% confidence interval: -0.13 to 1.68, P = 0.09).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, MSCs combined with drugs for treating liver fibrosis effectively make up for the shortcomings of MSCs in their therapeutic effects. However, due to the different drugs, the treatment mechanism and effect also differ. Therefore, more randomized controlled trials are needed to compare the therapeutic efficacy of different drugs in combination with MSCs, aiming to select the "best companion" of MSCs in treating hepatic fibrosis.

Progress of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) & MSC-Exosomes combined with drugs intervention in liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is an intrahepatic chronic damage repair response caused by various reasons such as alcoholic liver, fatty liver, viral hepatitis, autoimmune diseases, etc., and is closely related to the progression of liver disease. Currently, the mechanisms of liver fibrosis and its treatment are hot research topics in the field of liver disease remedy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a class of adult stem cells with self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation potential, which can ameliorate fibrosis through hepatic-directed differentiation, paracrine effects, and immunomodulation. However, the low inner-liver colonization rate, low survival rate, and short duration of intervention after stem cell transplantation have limited their wide clinical application. With the intensive research on liver fibrosis worldwide, it has been found that MSCs and MSCs-derived exosomes combined with drugs have shown better intervention efficiency than utilization of MSCs alone in many animal models of liver fibrosis. In this paper, we review the interventional effects and mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes combined with drugs to alleviate hepatic fibrosis in vivo in animal models in recent years, which will provide new ideas to improve the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes in treating hepatic fibrosis in the clinic.

Hepatocyte-derived exosomes deliver the lncRNA CYTOR to hepatic stellate cells and promote liver fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is characterized by the activation and transformation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) induced by various injury factors. The degree of liver fibrosis can be significantly improved, but persistent injury factors present a significant therapeutic challenge. Hepatocytes are the most important parenchymal cell type in the liver. In this study, we explored the molecular mechanisms by which damaged liver cells activate HSCs through extracellular vesicles. We established a coculture model of LO2 and LX2 and validated its exosomal transmission activity. Subsequently, differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were screened through RNA sequencing and their mechanisms of action as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) further confirmed using biological methods, such as FISH and luciferase assays. Damaged liver cells induced activation of LX2 and upregulation of liver fibrosis-related markers. Exosomes extracted and identified from the supernatant fraction contained differentially expressed lncRNA cytoskeleton regulator RNA (CYTOR) that competed with microRNA-125 (miR-125) for binding to glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in HSCs, in turn, promoting LX2 activation. MiR-125 could target and regulate both CYTOR and GDNF and vice versa, as verified using the luciferase assay. In an in vivo model, damaged liver extracellular vesicles induced the formation of liver fibrosis. Notably, downregulation of CYTOR within extracellular vesicles effectively inhibited liver fibrosis. The lncRNA CYTOR in exosomes of damaged liver cells is upregulated and modulates the expression of downstream GDNF through activity as a ceRNA, providing an effective mechanism for activation of HSCs.