Exosomes Derived from Human Urine-Derived Stem Cells Inhibit Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Ameliorating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Figure 5

USCs-exos regulate ER stress under stress-induced conditions by activating the AKT and ERK signaling pathways in NPCs. In the USCs-exos group, USCs-exos (100 μg/ml) was added for intervention under pressure. (a–c) Protein levels of AKT, p-AKT, ERK, and p-ERK were evaluated by Western blotting, and their relative quantities were calculated (b, c) using β-actin as the internal reference. LY294002 (LY) is an inhibitor of PI3K/AKT. PD98059 (PD) is an inhibitor of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. (d–g) The protein levels of CHOP, caspase-12, and caspase-3 were measured by Western blotting and statistically analyzed (e–g) using β-actin as an internal control. The data are expressed as the . Compared to the control group, ; ^#compared to the 48 h group, ; ^$compared to USCs-exos group, .

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