Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Exosomes Alleviate the Progression of Kidney Failure by Modulating Inflammatory Responses and Oxidative Stress in an Ischemia-Reperfusion Mice Model

Abstract

The efficacy of stem cells for the treatment of renal failure is widely recognized; however, an excessive volume of stem cells can block the capillaries; thus, the potential risks should not be ignored. Stem cell exosomes are secretory extracellular vesicles with a size of 30–150 nm, which have similar functions to stem cells but are much smaller in size. This study aims to investigate the role of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs)-derived exosomes in the treatment of renal failure caused by ischemia-reperfusion. Fifty 8-week-old female C57 mice underwent bilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion surgery for 30 minutes. After 4 weeks, the treated group received UCMSCs-derived exosomes treatment, and the control group was solely injected with the same amount of PBS. At the age of 16 weeks, the kidney function, kidney damage, inflammatory responses and oxidative stress were measured. Moreover, the effect of UCMSCs-derived exosomes on the phenotype of M1 macrophages was also tested. The results showed that UCMSCsderived exosomes significantly reduced the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCR), and urinary albumin and creatinine (ACR) and 8-isoprostane. UCMSCs-derived exosomes also improved the atrophy of the kidney and glomerulus, decreased kidney pro-inflammatory factors expression (mRNA of II-1β, II-6, Tnf-α, and Mcp-1) and oxidative stress (malondialdehyde), and increased glutathione level. However, F4/80 immunohistochemistry did not show significant differences between the two groups. In systemic inflammation measurement, UCMSCs-derived exosomes decreased proinflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β levels, and increased anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 level. In vitro experiments showed that UCMSCs-derived exosomes decreased the protein expression level of TNF-α and increased the protein expression level of IL-10 in M1 macrophages. UCMSCs-derived exosomes reduce kidney inflammation and oxidative stress by improving systemic inflammation, and thus reduce kidney damage and improve kidney function. This study shows the potential application value of exosomes in the treatment of renal failure.