Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Protect Cardiomyocytes from Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy by Upregulating Survivin Expression via the miR-199a-3p-Akt-Sp1/p53 Signaling Pathway

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-07, Vol.22 (13), p.7102
• Main Authors: Lee, Ji Yoon, Chung, Jihwa, Byun, Yeongju, Kim, Kyoung Hwa, An, Shung Hyun, Kwon, Kihwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AKT protein; Apoptosis; B-cell lymphoma; Cardiomyocytes; Cardiomyopathy; Cardiotoxicity; Cell culture; Cell death; Culture media; Doxorubicin; doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy; Embryos; Exosomes; Extracellular vesicles; Gene expression; Health services; In vivo methods and tests; Ischemia; Lymphocytes B; Mesenchymal stem cells; miRNA; Morphology; MSC-sEVs; Myoblasts; Phosphorylation; Progenitor cells; Proteins; Signal transduction; Stem cells; Survival; Survivin; Transcription factors; Ultrafiltration; Ventricle; Vesicles
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22137102

Cardiotoxicity is associated with the long-term clinical application of doxorubicin (DOX) in cancer patients. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs) including exosomes have been suggested for the treatment of various diseases, including ischemic diseases. However, the effects and functional mechanism of MSC-sEVs in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy have not been clarified. Here, MSC-sEVs were isolated from murine embryonic mesenchymal progenitor cell (C3H/10T1/2) culture media, using ultrafiltration. H9c2 cardiac myoblast cells were pretreated with MSC-sEVs and then exposed to DOX. For in vivo studies, male C57BL/6 mice were administered MSC-sEVs intravenously, prior to a single dose of DOX (15 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). The mice were sacrificed 14 days after DOX treatment. The results showed that MSC-sEVs protected cardiomyocytes from DOX-induced cell death. H9c2 cells treated with DOX showed downregulation of both phosphorylated Akt and survivin, whereas the treatment of MSC-sEVs recovered expression, indicating their anti-apoptotic effects. Three microRNAs (miRNAs) (miR 199a-3p, miR 424-5p, and miR 21-5p) in MSC-sEVs regulated the Akt-Sp1/p53 signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes. Among them, miR 199a-3p was involved in regulating survivin expression, which correlated with the anti-apoptotic effects of MSC-sEVs. In in vivo studies, the echocardiographic results showed that the group treated with MSC-sEVs recovered from DOX-induced cardiomyopathy, showing improvement of both the left ventricle fraction and ejection fraction. MSC-sEVs treatment also increased both survivin and B-cell lymphoma 2 expression in heart tissue compared to the DOX group. Our results demonstrate that MSC-sEVs have protective effects against DOX-induced cardiomyopathy by upregulating survivin expression, which is mediated by the regulation of Akt activation by miRNAs in MSC-sEVs. Thus, MSC-sEVs may be a novel therapy for the prevention of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy.