Mesenchymal stem cells secretome-induced axonal outgrowth is mediated by BDNF

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

Abstract (original English)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used for cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine, with increasing importance in central and peripheral nervous system repair. However, MSCs grafting present disadvantages, such as, a high number of cells required for transplantation and low survival rate when transplanted into the central nervous system (CNS). In line with this, MSCs secretome which present on its composition a wide range of molecules (neurotrophins, cytokines) and microvesicles, can be a solution to surpass these problems. However, the effect of MSCs secretome in axonal elongation is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that application of MSCs secretome to both rat cortical and hippocampal neurons induces an increase in axonal length. In addition, we show that this growth effect is axonal intrinsic with no contribution from the cell body. To further understand which are the molecules required for secretome-induced axonal outgrowth effect, we depleted brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from the secretome. Our results show that in the absence of BDNF, secretome-induced axonal elongation effect is lost and that axons present a reduced axonal growth rate. Altogether, our results demonstrate that MSCs secretome is able to promote axonal outgrowth in CNS neurons and this effect is mediated by BDNF.

Evidence level

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

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