Mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes ameliorate blue light stimulation in retinal pigment epithelium cells and retinal laser injury by VEGF-dependent mechanism

AIM： To observe the effect of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells（h UCMSCs） on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A（VEGF-A） in blue light injured human retinal pigment epithelial（RPE） cells and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization（CNV） in rats.METHODS： Exosomes were isolated from h UCMSCs and characterized by transmission electron microscope and Western blot. MSCs-derived exosomes were cultured with RPE cells exposed to blue light. The m RNA and protein expression of VEGF-A were determined by real time-polymerase chain reaction（PCR） and Western blot, respectively. Immunofluorescence assay was used for the detection of the expression level of VEGF-A. We injected different doses of MSCs-derived exosomes intravitreally to observe and compare their effects in a mouse model of laserinduced retinal injury. The histological structure of CNV in rats was inspected by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and fundus fluorescein angiography. The expression of VEGF-A was detected by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS： Exosomes exhibited the typical characteristic morphology（cup-shaped） and size（diameter between 50 and 150 nm）. The exosomes marker, CD63, and h UCMSCs marker, CD90, showed a robust presence. In vitro, MSCsderived exosomes downregulated the m RNA（Exo-L： t=6.485, 7.959, 9.286; Exo-M： t=7.517, 10.170, 13.413; Exo-H： t=10.317, 12.234, 14.592, P〈0.05） and protein（Exo-L： t=2.945, 4.477, 6.657; Exo-M： t=4.713, 6.421, 8.836; Exo-H：t=6.539, 12.194, 12.783; P〈0.05） expression of VEGF-A in RPE cells after blue light stimulation. In vivo, we found that the MSCs-derived exosomes reduced damage, distinctly downregulated VEGF-A（Exo-H： t=0.957, 1.382; P〈0.05）, and gradually improved the histological structures of CNV for a better visual function（Exo-L： 0.346, Exo-M： 3.382, Exo-H： 8.571; P〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： MSCs-derived exosomes ameliorate blue light stimulation in RPE cells and laser-induced retinal injury via downregulation of VEGF-A.

Effects of simvastatin on cigarette smoke extract induced tissue-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

Background Cigarette smoking has an influence on both arterial-type and venous-type thrombosis. However, little is known about the direct effect of cigarette smoke extract （CSE） on fibrinolytic activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs）. Most recently, simvastatin has been marked in its effect on endothelial cells protection and anticoagulation. In this study, the effect of CSE on the expression of tissue-type plasminogen activator （t-PA） and plasminogen activator inhibitor-l（PAl-1） in HUVECs was addressed. The role of simvastatin in CSE-induced fibrinolytic activity changes was investigated as well. Methods The fourth to fifth generation of HUVECs were incubated respectively with 0, 5%, 10% and 20% CSE for 6 hours or exposed to 5% CSE for 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 hours to determine the expression changes of t-PA and PAl-1 protein. Meanwhile, cells were also accordingly exposed either to 5% CSE alone or simvastatin pre-treated and 5% CSE for 24 hours to assess the role of simvastatin in CSE-induced t-PA and PAl-1 protein and mRNA expression in HUVECs. RT-PCR and ELISA techniques were used for detecting the t-PA or PAl-1 mRNA and protein. Results After 6-hour exposure to CSE, the expression levels of t-PA protein in 10% and 20% CSE-treated groups reduced significantly （（0.0365±0.0083） ng/ml, （0.0255±0.0087） ng/ml） when compared with that of control group （（0.0660±0.0120） ng/ml） （P 〈0.05）. In contrast, the levels of PAl-1 protein in 5%, 10% and 20% CSE-treated groups increased remarkably （（13.3225±0.5680） ng/ml, （14.2675±1.5380） ng/ml, （14.4292±1.6230） ng/ml） when compared with that of control group （（8.5193_±0.7537）ng/ml） （P〈0.05）. After stimulation with 5% CSE for 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 hours, the levels of PAl-1 protein increased over time and reached the peak at 24 hours （（14.6400±1.0651） ng/ml）, which was significantly higher than that of control group （（12.0656±0.6148） ng/ml） （P 〈0.05）. Additionally, CSE could up-regulate PAl-1 expression at both the mRNA and the protein levels. The levels of PAl-1 mRNA and protein increased significantly in 5% CSE-treated group （（8.8030±0.4745） ng/ml, （1.8155±0.0412） ng/ml） compared with those of control groups （（5.0588±0.2315） ng/ml, （1.3030±0.0647） ng/ml） （P 〈0.01）, and decreased after 2-hour simvastatin pre-treatment （（5.4875±0.3166） ng/ml, （1.3975-±0.0297） ng/ml） （P 〈0.01）. No significant difference was found at the levels of t-PA protein and mRNA （P 〉0.05）. Conclusions CSE inhibits the fibrinolytic activity of HUVECs in vitro. Simvastatin plays a protective role in CSE-induced fibrinolytic malfunction.