Microglia-Derived Exosomes Improve Spinal Cord Functional Recovery after Injury via Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Promoting the Survival and Function of Endothelia Cells

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)

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disease of the central nervous system with long-term disability and high mortality worldwide. Revascularization following SCI provides nutritional supports to rebuild and maintain the homeostasis of neuronal networks, and the subsequent promotion of angiogenesis is beneficial for functional recovery. Oxidative stress drastically produced following SCI has been contributed to endothelial dysfunction and the limited endogenous repair of microvasculature. Recently, exosomes, being regarded as potential therapeutic candidates for many kinds of diseases, have attracted great attentions due to its high bioavailability, safety, and stability. Microglia have been reported to exhibit proangiogenic function and guide the forming of vasculature during tissue repair. However, the specific role of microglia-derived exosomes (MG-Exos) played in SCI is still largely unknown. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate whether MG-Exos could protect spinal cord microvascular endothelial cells (SCMECs) against the toxic effects of oxidative stress, thus promote SCMECs' survival and function. We also investigated the protective effects of MG-Exos in the mouse model of SCI to verify their capability. Our results demonstrated that MG-Exo treatment significantly decreased the level of oxidative stress (ROS), as well as did the protein levels of NOX2

Evidence level

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

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