Role of Royal Jelly Treated Adipose-Derived Stem Cell-Extracellular Vesicles on Fibroblast Proliferation, Migration, and Collagen Production

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are known to exhibit collagen synthesis and migration activity in fibroblasts. These EVs can be used as a regenerative medicine and for cosmetic medicinal materials. Royal jelly (RJ) is produced from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of honeybees (nurse bee), which contains apicin and 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid, compounds that promote fibroblast proliferation and collagen and elastin synthesis. Here, we investigated whether RJ could further enhance the physiological function of ADSC-EVs on fibroblasts. The findings confirmed that lyophilized RJ and enzyme-treated RJ enhanced the secretion of EVs by ADSCs, increasing the proliferation, migration, and collagen synthesis of fibroblasts compared to those induced by conventional ADSC-EVs. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted using various software programs, based on the data obtained from comprehensive gene expression and small RNA profiling analyses through next-generation sequencing; the results suggested that the RJ treatment of ADSC-EVs significantly enhanced the expression of genes related to extracellular matrix composition. Our findings suggest that the ADSC-EVs qualitatively altered using RJ could offer a more effective therapeutic material for regenerative and cosmetic medicine than conventional ADSCs-EVs.