Exosomes from umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells promote the collagen production of fibroblasts from pelvic organ prolapse

Figure 5 Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosome stimulated the growth and contractility of fibroblasts. A: A Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect the effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosome (hucMSC-Exo) on the viability of fibroblasts from 0 h to 72 h; B: Quantification of the CCK-8 results at 48 h; C and D: Flow cytometric analysis of the cell cycle distribution of fibroblasts exposed to hucMSC-Exo and quantification of the results at 48 h; E and F: Representative images and quantification of gel contraction following incubation with hucMSC-Exo (4 or 6 μg/mL) for 48 h. Gel contraction was measured as a percentage of the area of the control group; G-I: Culture supernatant was collected after fibroblasts from the 4 groups were treated for 48 h, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to determine the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2 and IL-4. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA (means ± SD). ^aP < 0.05; ^bP < 0.01; ^cP < 0.001; ^dP < 0.0001. Exo: Exosome; IL: Interleukin; FBS: Fetal bovine serum.