Effect of hucMSC-derived Exosomes on the Pressure Ulcers in Mice

INTRODUCTION: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a result of sustained compression of the local skin, leading to impaired blood circulation and subsequent nutritional deficiencies in the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Exosomes are one type of extracellular vesicle with a size range of 40 to 160 nm. Currently, the effects of Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (hucMSC-exos) on the PUs and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. METHODS: In this study, a PUs model was constructed using BALB/c mice, and the effect of hucMSC-exos on the PUs mice was evaluated by using histopathological examination, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and western blotting. RESULTS: The results of HE staining and Masson staining demonstrated that the treatment of hucMSC-exos could alleviate the histopathological changes of mice. Furthermore, the results of qPCR demonstrated that hucMSC-exos decreased the levels of collagen I, collagen III, and α-SMA in PUs mice; and the results of western blotting demonstrated that the expressions of HMGB1 and α-SMA could be decreased by the administration of hucMSC-exos. DISCUSSION: The data in the manuscript suggest that hucMSC-exos are both safe and effective in the treatment of PUs. It is recommended that large-scale animal experiments and long-term administration time of hucMSC-exos should be conducted to further verify the effect of hucMSC-exos in PUs. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrated that hucMSC-exos alleviated the symptoms of PU mice by regulating HGMB1 and α-SMA, thus demonstrating the therapeutic potential of hucMSC-exos in PUs.