Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesAnimal StudyEurope PMCOpen access

Detection of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Aging Using an Integrin Mechano-Probe

Liu A., Liu X., Li J., Li J., Wang X., Dong Y.

Animal Study, published in Ann N Y Acad Sci (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

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Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

  • Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
  • Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
  • Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
  • Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
  • Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
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This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Animal Study
Journal
Ann N Y Acad Sci (2026)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
41954370
PMCID
PMC13064422
DOI
10.1111/nyas.70247

Abstract (original English)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a crucial role in cell therapy, but their efficacy diminishes with age. While biochemical methods like flow cytometry, immunoblotting, β-galactosidase labeling, and gene profiling are effective for screening MSC aging, mechanical factors also change with aging. After analyzing the transcriptomes of young and aged MSCs, we observed downregulation of adhesion-related genes and, based on those data, developed an integrin mechano-probe to measure integrin forces in MSCs. The probe's effectiveness was validated by mapping integrin forces in young and aged MSCs, revealing reduced integrin force signals in aged cells that correlated with downregulated expression of β1 integrins. This finding was further confirmed by flow cytometry and β-galactosidase staining. Overexpression of integrin β1 in aged MSCs restored mechanical signaling and increased p-ERK production, suggesting that the integrin β1/ERK pathway plays a role in rescuing the contractility of aged MSCs. Our mechano-probe enables distinguishing aged MSCs in a mixed pool of young and aged MSCs and identifying aged MSCs taken from mouse tissue. Integrin tension signals, as measured by a mechano-probe, may thus complement biochemical markers in assessing MSC aging.

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

How we grade evidence
Mesenchymal Stem CellsAnimalsHumansMiceIntegrinsMechanotransduction, CellularCellular SenescenceIntegrin beta1

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