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

Figure 8

miR-31 in hBMSC-EVs relieves IDD in mice: (a) representative fluorescence micrographs showing PKH26-labeled EVs in IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31. Scale  μm. (b) miR-31 expression in IVD tissues; (c) serum levels of inflammatory factors in IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31 determined by ELISA; (d) protein expression of NFAT5 and β-catenin in IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31 determined by Western blot; (e) protein expression of cleaved caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31 determined by Western blot; (f) protein expression of ECM-related genes in IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31 determined by Western blot; (g) cell apoptosis determined by TUNEL assay in IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31 9 weeks after puncture. Blue fluorescence (DAPI) indicates the total number of cells; green fluorescence (FITC) indicates TUNEL-positive cells. Scale  μm. (h) HE staining of IVD tissues of IDD mice treated with BMSCs-EVs or combined with anti-miR-31. Scale  μm. .

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