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

Figure 7

miR-31 in hBMSC-EVs targets NFAT5 to inhibit NPC apoptosis and ECM degradation in NPCs: (a) protein expression of NFAT5 and β-catenin in TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by Western blot; (b) the transcription activity of TCF/LEF in TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by TOPFlash; (c) proliferation of TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by CCK-8 assay; (d) apoptosis of TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by flow cytometry; (e) protein expression of apoptosis-related genes cleaved caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by Western blot; (f) protein expression of ECM-related genes in TNF-α-exposed NPCs treated with oe-NFAT5 or combined with BMSCs-EVs determined by Western blot. . Cell experiments were repeated three times.

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