Copyright
©©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Therapeutic effects of menstrual blood-derived endometrial stem cells on mouse models of streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes
Yu-Liang Sun, Ling-Rui Shang, Rui-Hong Liu, Xin-Yi Li, Sheng-Hui Zhang, Ya-Kun Ren, Kang Fu, Hong-Bin Cheng, Badrul Hisham Yahaya, Yan-Li Liu, Jun-Tang Lin
Yu-Liang Sun, Ling-Rui Shang, Xin-Yi Li, Yan-Li Liu, Jun-Tang Lin, Stem Cell and Biotherapy Technology Research Center, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Yu-Liang Sun, Badrul Hisham Yahaya, Regenerative Medicine Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (IPPT), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kepala Batas 13200, Penang, Malaysia
Rui-Hong Liu, Hong-Bin Cheng, Jun-Tang Lin, College of Biomedical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Sheng-Hui Zhang, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Ya-Kun Ren, Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Kang Fu, Department of Technical, Henan Intercell Biotechnology co. LTD, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Sun YL and Shang LR contributed equally to this work; Cheng HB, Yahaya BH, Liu YL and Lin JT conceived the idea and designed the study; Sun YL, Liu RH, Li XY, Zhang SH, Ren YK, and Fu K contributed to the literature review and integrated the materials; Sun YL and Shang LR prepared the draft; Liu YL and Lin JT revised the manuscript and approved the final version as the corresponding authors; all the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Henan Province Foundation of China, No. 202300410307 and No. 212102310611; Xinxiang City Foundation of China, No. GG2020009.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The research was reviewed and approved by Xinxiang Medical University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares that there is no conflict of interest at the time of publishing this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data is available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Jun-Tang Lin, PhD, Professor, Stem Cell and Biotherapy Technology Research Center, Xinxiang Medical University, East of JinSui Road, Xinxiang 453000, Henan Province, China. linjt@xxmu.edu.cn
Received: May 5, 2021
Peer-review started: May 5, 2021
First decision: June 23, 2021
Revised: July 20, 2021
Accepted: December 25, 2021
Article in press: December 25, 2021
Published online: January 26, 2022
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), a chronic metabolic disease that lacks an effective cure, seriously endangers human health. In recent years, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has become an effective treatment for diabetes. Menstrual blood-derived endometrial stem cells (MenSC), a novel MSC type derived from the decidual endometrium during menstruation, are expected to become promising seeding cells for diabetes treatment due to their therapeutic effects on many diseases.
Research motivation
T1D is a highly prevalent disease and lacks an effective treatment. MenSC are expected to become promising seeding cells for diabetes treatment in the clinic.
Research objectives
The objective of our study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of MenSC on a T1D mouse model.
Research methods
Streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce the T1D mouse model. Then, improvements in the blood glucose levels and biochemical indexes of the mice were detected after the injection of MenSC via their tail vein. Moreover, the morphological and functional improvements in the livers, spleens and kidneys of MenSC-treated T1D model mice were examined.
Research results
In the STZ-induced T1D model, MenSC transplantation significantly improved the symptoms of T1D mice. Immunofluorescence and western blot analyses revealed that the numbers of insulin+ cells and CD31+ cells in the pancreas were significantly increased in MenSC-treated mice compared with control mice and inhibited the apoptosis of pancreatic cells. Additionally, protein arrays showed that MenSC transplantation significantly downregulated the serum levels of interferon γ and tumor necrosis factor α and upregulated the serum levels of interleukin-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor in the model mice. Subsequent histological and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that MSC transplantation systematically improved the morphologies and functions of the liver, kidneys, and spleen in the T1D model mice and effectively alleviated the complications of T1D.
Research conclusions
The therapeutic effects of MenSC transplantation are equal to those of umbilical cord-derived MSC and can significantly improve the symptoms of T1D mice and exert protective effects on their main organs. MenSC are expected to become promising seeding cells for the treatment of T1D.
Research perspectives
In the STZ-induced T1D mouse model, MenSC can effectively improve the symptoms and complications of T1D and lay a foundation for the clinical use of MenSC in the treatment of T1D.
