Research on mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes as aging regulators

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21572
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 52:General internal medicine and related fields
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Kuzuya Masafumi 名古屋大学, 未来社会創造機構(医), 教授 (10283441)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 黄 哲 名古屋大学, 医学系研究科, 特任講師 (30745112) ; 朴 麗梅 名古屋大学, 医学系研究科, 特任助教 (60867208)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 老化 / サルコペニア / 間葉系幹細胞 / 細胞治療 / エクソゾーム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To investigate the effects of umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) on aging, 24-week-old Senescence-Accelerated Mouse (SAM) prone 10 (SAMP10) mice were injected with UC-MSCs via tail vein and the effect on age-related sarcopenia was examined. At 12 weeks after administration, the UC-MSCs improved skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and endurance compared to the control (PBS). The possible mechanisms of this improvement included enhancement of muscle protein synthesis (suppression of catabolism), activation of mitochondria in muscle fibers, reduction of inflammation, and suppression of apoptosis. The same effect was also observed with systemic administration of UC-MSC-derived exosomes, suggesting that the effect of UC-MSC on age-related sarcopenia is paracrine.

Free Research Field

老年医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、様々な組織由来の間葉系幹細胞 (MSC) による種々の治療法の開発が進んでおり、臨床応用が既に始まっている疾患も存在する。しかし、その多くは局所的な障害をターゲットとした治療であり、老化自体をターゲットする研究は今のところない。今回の我々の研究はターゲットとして筋肉老化（サルコペニア）を使用したが、今回の知見からはMSCの投与は他臓器の老化にも同様な効果が期待でき、今後の老化制御、老化遅延にむけた研究に今後展開できる可能性があり、医学のみならず世界的な高齢化の進む社会に対してもインパクトが大きいと思われる。