Regulation of ROS/inflammasome Axis is Essential for Cardiac Regeneration in Aging Rats Receiving Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Background: Aging is a biological and gradual deterioration of function in living organisms. Aging is one of the risk factors for heart disease. Objective: Although mesenchymal stem cell transplantation shows potential in heart disease treatment, the relationship between stem cell-based therapy and oxidative stress/inflammasome axis regulation remains unclear. This study hypothesized that intervention of stem cells showed protective effect on heart aging induced by D-galactose through regulation of oxidative stress/inflammasome axis. Methods: An aging animal model was designed to test the above hypothesis. Experimental animals were divided into three groups, including Sham, D-gal (aging rats induced by d-galactose), and D-gal+WJSC (aging rats receiving mesenchymal stem cells). Results: Compared to the Sham, the experimental results indicate that structural alteration (HE stain and Masson’s Trichrome stain), oxidative stress elevation (increase of TBARS level, expression of gp-91 and suppression of Sirt-1 as well as SOD2), increase of aging marker p53, suppression of cardiogenesis marker Troponin T, and inflammasome related protein markers expression (NLRP3, caspase-1 and IL-1 beta) were significantly observed in D-gal. In contrast, all pathological pathways were significantly improved in D-gal+WJSC when compared to D-gal. In addition, migration of stem cells to aging heart tissues was observed in the D-gal+WJSC group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that mesenchymal stem cell transplantation effectively ameliorates aging hearts through oxidative stress/inflammasome axis regulation. The results from this study provide clinical potential for stem cell-based therapy in the treatment of aging hearts.