Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a debilitating retinal disorder that may lead to progressive vision loss. One contributing factor to AMD pathogenesis is excessive blue light (BL) exposure. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSC-EXs) in addressing BL-induced damage to ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and explored the underlying mechanisms. Our findings revealed that BL exposure induced morphological alterations in ARPE-19 cells, accompanied by a time-dependent decline in cell viability, increased apoptosis, heightened oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses; however, hUCMSC-EXs dose-dependently mitigated BL-induced ARPE-19 cell damage. Interestingly, hUCMSC-EXs were found to suppress the upregulation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in BL-exposed ARPE-19 cells. Furthermore, FGF2 overexpression partially counteracted the inhibitory effects of hUCMSC-EXs on FGF2 expression and compromised the protective benefits of hUCMSC-EXs against BL-induced ARPE-19 cell damage. In conclusion, our results suggest that hUCMSC-EXs shield ARPE-19 cells from BL-induced harm by inhibiting FGF2 expression.