Stem cell secretome treatment improves whole-body metabolism, reduces adiposity, and promotes skeletal muscle function in aged mice.

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)

Aging coincides with the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, increased adiposity, and diminished physical function. Accordingly, interventions aimed at improving muscle, metabolic, and/or physical health are of interest to mitigate the adverse effects of aging. In this study, we tested a stem cell secretome product, which contains extracellular vesicles and growth, cytoskeletal remodeling, and immunomodulatory factors. We examined the effects of 4 weeks of 2×/week unilateral intramuscular secretome injections (quadriceps) in ambulatory aged male C57BL/6 mice (22-24 months) compared to saline-injected aged-matched controls. Secretome delivery substantially increased whole-body lean mass and decreased fat mass, corresponding to higher myofiber cross-sectional area and smaller adipocyte size, respectively. Secretome-treated mice also had greater whole-body physical function (grip strength and rotarod performance) and had higher energy expenditure and physical activity levels compared to control mice. Furthermore, secretome-treated mice had greater skeletal muscle Pax7+ cell abundance, capillary density, collagen IV turnover, reduced intramuscular lipids, and greater Akt and hormone sensitive lipase phosphorylation in adipose tissue. Finally, secretome treatment in vitro directly enhanced muscle cell growth and IL-6 production, and in adipocytes, it reduced lipid content

Evidence level

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

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