miR-31 from Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Alleviates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Inhibiting NFAT5 and Upregulating the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Figure 4

hBMSC-EVs inhibit NPC apoptosis and ECM degradation and promote cell proliferation in NPCs. (a) miR-31 expression in TNF-α-treated NPCs cocultured with BMSCs or further treated with GW4869 determined by qRT-PCR. (b) Proliferation of TNF-α-treated NPCs cocultured with BMSCs or further treated with GW4869 determined by CCK-8 assay. (c) Apoptosis of TNF-α-treated NPCs cocultured with BMSCs or further treated with GW4869 determined by flow cytometry. (d) Protein expression of apoptosis-related genes cleaved caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in TNF-α-treated NPCs cocultured with BMSCs or further treated with GW4869 determined by Western blot. (e) Protein expression of ECM-related genes in TNF-α-treated NPCs cocultured with BMSCs or further treated with GW4869 determined by Western blot. vs. PBS; ^# vs. TNF-α; ^& vs. TNF-α+hBMSCs. Cell experiments were repeated three times.

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