Abstract
Insulin resistance is the major pathological characteristic of type 2 diabetes, and the elderly often develop insulin resistance. However, the deep-seated mechanisms for aging-related insulin resistance remain unclear. Here, we showed that nanosized exosomes released by bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) of aged mice could be taken up by adipocytes, myocytes, and hepatocytes, resulting in insulin resistance both in vivo and in vitro. Using microRNA (miRNA) array assays, we found that the amount of miR-29b-3p was dramatically increased in exosomes released by BM-MSCs of aged mice. Mechanistically, SIRT1 (sirtuin 1) was identified to function as the downstream target of exosomal miR-29b-3p in regulating insulin resistance. Notably, utilizing an aptamer-mediated nanocomplex delivery system that down-regulated the level of miR-29b-3p in BM-MSCs-derived exosomes significantly ameliorated the insulin resistance of aged mice. Meanwhile, BM-MSCs-specific overexpression of miR-29b-3p induced insulin resistance in young mice. Taken together, these findings suggested that BM-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-29b-3p could modulate aging-related insulin resistance, which may serve as a potential therapeutic target for aging-associated insulin resistance.