Pentraxin 3 secreted by human adipose-derived stem cells promotes dopaminergic neuron repair in Parkinson's disease via the inhibition of apoptosis

Although adipose-derived human mesenchymal stem cell (hADSC) transplantation has recently emerged as a promising therapeutic modality for Parkinson's disease (PD), its underlying mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of stereotaxic injection of hADSCs in the striatum of the 6-OHDA-induced mouse model. Furthermore, an in vitro PD model was constructed using tissue-organized brain slices. The therapeutic effect was also evaluated using a co-culture of the hADSCs and 6-OHDA-treated brain slice. The analysis of hADSC exocrine proteins using RNA-sequencing, human protein cytokine arrays, and label-free quantitative proteomics identified key extracellular factors in the hADSC secretion environment. The degeneration and apoptosis of the dopaminergic neurons were measured in the PD samples in vivo and in vitro, and the beneficial effects were evaluated using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, Fluoro-Jade C, TUNEL assay, and immunofluorescence analysis. This study found that hADSCs protected the dopaminergic neurons in the in vivo and vitro models. We identified Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) as a key extracellular factor in the hADSC secretion environment. Moreover, we found that human recombinant PTX3 (rhPTX3) treatment could rescue the pathophysiological behavior of the PD mice in vivo, prevent dopaminergic neuronal death, and increase neuronal terminals in the ventral tegmental area + substantia nigra pars compacta and striatum in the PD brain slices in vitro. Furthermore, testing of the pro-apoptotic markers in the PD mouse brain following rhPTX3 treatment revealed that rhPTX3 can prevent apoptosis and degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons. This study discovered that PTX3, a hADSC-secreted protein, potentially protected the dopaminergic neurons against apoptosis and degeneration during PD progression and improved motor performance in PD mice, indicating the possible mechanism of action of hADSC replacement therapy for PD. Thus, our study discovered potential translational implications for the development of PTX3-based therapeutics for PD.