Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease

Current therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) includes acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists, and amyloid beta (Aβ)/Tau-targeting drugs. While these drugs improve cognitive decline and target the pathological mechanisms, their outcomes still are still in debate. Mesenchymal ste...

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Main Authors: Herui Wang, Chonglin Zhong, Yi Mi, Guo Li, Chenliang Zhang, Yaoyao Chen, Xin Li, Yongjun Liu, Guangyang Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Bioengineering
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/646
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author Herui Wang
Chonglin Zhong
Yi Mi
Guo Li
Chenliang Zhang
Yaoyao Chen
Xin Li
Yongjun Liu
Guangyang Liu
author_facet Herui Wang
Chonglin Zhong
Yi Mi
Guo Li
Chenliang Zhang
Yaoyao Chen
Xin Li
Yongjun Liu
Guangyang Liu
author_sort Herui Wang
collection DOAJ
description Current therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) includes acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists, and amyloid beta (Aβ)/Tau-targeting drugs. While these drugs improve cognitive decline and target the pathological mechanisms, their outcomes still are still in debate. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer a regenerative approach by modulating neuroinflammation and promoting neuroprotection. Although the paracrine of MSCs is efficient in various AD preclinical studies and the exosomes of MSCs have entered clinical trials, the key cytokines driving the efficacy remain unclear. Here, we evaluated human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) and employed gene-silenced MSCs (siHGF-MSCs, siTNFR1-MSCs, siBDNF-MSCs) in APP/PS1 AD mice to investigate specific mechanisms. hUC-MSCs significantly reduced Aβ/Tau pathology and neuroinflammation, with cytokine-specific contributions: silencing HGF predominantly reduced Aβ/Tau clearance, although silencing TNFR1 or BDNF showed modest effects; silencing TNFR1 or BDNF more prominently weakened anti-neuroinflammation, while silencing HGF exerted a weaker influence. All three cytokines partially contributed to oxidative stress reduction and cognitive improvements. Our study highlights MSC-driven AD alleviation as a multifactorial strategy and reveals specific cytokines alleviating different aspects of AD pathology.
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issn 2306-5354
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spelling doaj-art-9214ede11aee447caba59798f00e8bd22025-08-20T03:32:27ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542025-06-0112664610.3390/bioengineering12060646Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s DiseaseHerui Wang0Chonglin Zhong1Yi Mi2Guo Li3Chenliang Zhang4Yaoyao Chen5Xin Li6Yongjun Liu7Guangyang Liu8Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaDepartment of Anesthesiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Department, Yi-Chuang Institute of Bio-Industry, Beijing 100176, ChinaCurrent therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) includes acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists, and amyloid beta (Aβ)/Tau-targeting drugs. While these drugs improve cognitive decline and target the pathological mechanisms, their outcomes still are still in debate. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer a regenerative approach by modulating neuroinflammation and promoting neuroprotection. Although the paracrine of MSCs is efficient in various AD preclinical studies and the exosomes of MSCs have entered clinical trials, the key cytokines driving the efficacy remain unclear. Here, we evaluated human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) and employed gene-silenced MSCs (siHGF-MSCs, siTNFR1-MSCs, siBDNF-MSCs) in APP/PS1 AD mice to investigate specific mechanisms. hUC-MSCs significantly reduced Aβ/Tau pathology and neuroinflammation, with cytokine-specific contributions: silencing HGF predominantly reduced Aβ/Tau clearance, although silencing TNFR1 or BDNF showed modest effects; silencing TNFR1 or BDNF more prominently weakened anti-neuroinflammation, while silencing HGF exerted a weaker influence. All three cytokines partially contributed to oxidative stress reduction and cognitive improvements. Our study highlights MSC-driven AD alleviation as a multifactorial strategy and reveals specific cytokines alleviating different aspects of AD pathology.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/646Alzheimer’s diseaseneuroinflammationcognitionnerve regenerationmesenchymal stem cells
spellingShingle Herui Wang
Chonglin Zhong
Yi Mi
Guo Li
Chenliang Zhang
Yaoyao Chen
Xin Li
Yongjun Liu
Guangyang Liu
Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
Bioengineering
Alzheimer’s disease
neuroinflammation
cognition
nerve regeneration
mesenchymal stem cells
title Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
title_fullStr Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full_unstemmed Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
title_short Exploration of Cytokines That Impact the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alzheimer’s Disease
title_sort exploration of cytokines that impact the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in alzheimer s disease
topic Alzheimer’s disease
neuroinflammation
cognition
nerve regeneration
mesenchymal stem cells
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/646
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