Ameliorating liver fibrosis in an animal model using the secretome released from miR-122-transfected adipose-derived stem cells

Figure 6 Determination of systemic effects of MCM and analysis of secretome components. A: Results of ELISA showing serum levels of inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α) in each group. MCM administration had the greatest effect on lowering the serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in thioacetamide (TAA)-treated mice; B: Serology tests of AST and ALT in the mouse model of liver fibrosis. MCM infusion had the greatest effect on decreasing the serum levels of AST and ALT; C: Heat map generated from label-free LC-MS for quantitative proteomics reflecting protein expression values of NCM and MCM. Samples are arranged in columns, proteins in rows. Red shading indicates increased expression in samples compared to control; green shading indicates reduced expression; and black shading indicates median expression. Each sample for LC-MS was pooled from three samples of the secretome. The components and concentrations of various essential proteins varied widely between NCM and MCM, validating the effects of miR-125 transfection. Specifically, MCM exhibited a significantly lower concentration of essential intermediates of TGF-β/Smad signaling, such as transgelin, PIN1, and Profilin-1, than NCM. Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation of three independent experiments. ^aP < 0.05 vs Ct (TAA). ^cP < 0.05 between TAA + NCM and TAA + MCM. ALT: Alanine transaminase; AST: Aspartate transaminase; TAA: Thioacetamide; TNF- α: Tumor necrosis factor-α.