Abstract
Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown great promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; however, the regenerative capacity of senescent MSCs is greatly reduced, thus exhibiting limited therapy potential. Previous studies uncovered that microRNA-206 (miR-206) could largely regulate cell functions, including cell proliferation, survival, and apoptosis, but whether miR-206 is involved in the senescent process of MSCs remains unknown. In this study, we mainly elucidated the effects of miR-206 on MSC senescence and the underlying mechanism. We discovered that miR-206 was upregulated in the senescent MSCs induced by H(2)O(2), and abrogation of miR-206 could alleviate this tendency. Besides, we determined that by targeting Alpl, miR-206 could ameliorate the impaired migration and paracrine function in MSCs reduced by H(2)O(2). In vivo study, we revealed that inhibition of miR-206 in senescent MSCs could effectively protect their potential for myocardial infarction treatment in a rat MI model. In summary, we examined that inhibition of miR-206 in MSCs can alleviate H(2)O(2)-induced senescence and dysfunction, thus protecting its therapeutic potential.