VEGF-Expressing Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain in Parkinson's Disease.
Man LiJi LiHong ChenMingxin ZhuPublished in: Cell transplantation (2023)
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a pro-angiogenic factor that mediates the differentiation and function of vascular endothelial cells. VEGF has been implicated in modulating various pains. However, the effects of VEGF in Parkinson's disease (PD)-related pain have not been studied. The goal of this study was to understand the effects of VEGF-expressing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on PD-related pain and the involved mechanisms. We used two types of MSCs: hAMSC-Vector-GFP and hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP in PD mice. Then, the expression of VEGF and the viability have been compared between two types of MSCs. To demonstrate the therapeutic effect of hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP, we transplanted each cell line in a PD mouse model. Head mechanical withdrawal thresholds were examined. hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP was associated with significantly increased VEGF expression and slightly increased viability, compared with hAMSC-Vector-GFP. The transplanted hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP significantly improved mechanical allodynia and inhibited transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) expression in site. And such pain relief effects could be partially blocked by TRPV1 agonist. However, we did not observe tumor generation or neuron degeneration in hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP-transplanted animals. Taken together, our data suggest that hAMSC-VEGF189-GFP is safely therapeutically appropriate for treating PD-related pain. VEGF inhibits TRPV1 expression, which may contribute to its analgesic properties.
Keyphrases
- vascular endothelial growth factor
- endothelial cells
- mesenchymal stem cells
- neuropathic pain
- chronic pain
- poor prognosis
- mouse model
- pain management
- high glucose
- umbilical cord
- stem cells
- binding protein
- spinal cord
- spinal cord injury
- deep learning
- metabolic syndrome
- risk assessment
- skeletal muscle
- combination therapy
- climate change
- smoking cessation
- postoperative pain