Iranian Journal of Pathology

Alpha-Synuclein Clearance through Inhibiting Akt/mTOR Pathway by Microfluidic Encapsulated Induced Conjunctival MSCs in a Parkinsonian Model

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Meysam Forouzandeh 1
Mohammad Reza Bigdeli 2, 1
Hossein Mostafavi 3, 4
Samad Nadri 5
Mehdi Eskandari 3

1 Faculty of Life Sciences, Shahid-Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

3 Department o Physiology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

4 Cancer Gene Therapy Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

5 Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30699/ijp.2022.553459.2890
Abstract
Background & Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in which the cause is attributed to the alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) accumulation due to the decreased rate of autophagy. Due to the many advantages, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), such as the secretion of neurotrophic factors, have been proposed for PD cell therapy. The present study, in continuation of the previous study, aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of human-derived Conjunctival MSCs (CJ-MSCs) on the clearance of α-Syn by the microRNA-149(miR-149)/Akt/mTOR/ pathway.
Methods: Stereotaxic 6-hydroxy dopamine (6-OHDA) was injected directly into the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) to induce Parkinson's disease. An apomorphine-induced rotation test was used to confirm the model establishment. CJ-MSCs were encapsulated in alginate microgel using a microfluidic system. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled CJ-MSCs were encapsulated, and free cells were transplanted into the rats' right striatum. Behavioral and molecular analyses evaluated the potency of CJ-MSCs (encapsulated and free cells) in PD rats. Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to investigate the expression of the miR-149-5p, Akt, mTOR, and α-Syn.
Results: Our obtained results indicated that transplantation of CJ-MSCs leads to a decrease in the number of rotations while raising the balance and motor abilities. The gene expression evaluation showed a significant reduction in Akt, mTOR, and α-Syn mRNA levels and a significant increase in the level of miR-149-5p compared to the control group.  
Conclusion: It seems that CJ-MSCs can promote the degradation of intracellular α-Syn by miR-149-5p/Akt/mTOR pathway and improve rats' motor functions.

Keywords

Alpha-synuclein
Mesenchymal stem cells
miR-149-5p
mTOR
Parkinson's disease

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Pathology
Volume 17, Issue 3
Summer 2022
Pages 342-353

  • Receive Date 14 May 2022
  • Revise Date 12 August 2022
  • Accept Date 12 July 2022

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