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Review
. 2019 Apr 17;10(1):120.
doi: 10.1186/s13287-019-1225-x.

Modulating autophagy in mesenchymal stem cells effectively protects against hypoxia- or ischemia-induced injury

Chenxia Hu  1 , Lingfei Zhao  2   3   4 , Daxian Wu  1 , Lanjuan Li  5
Affiliations
Review

Modulating autophagy in mesenchymal stem cells effectively protects against hypoxia- or ischemia-induced injury

Chenxia Hu et al. Stem Cell Res Ther. .

Abstract

In mammals, a basal level of autophagy, a self-eating cellular process, degrades cytosolic proteins and subcellular organelles in lysosomes to provide energy, recycles the cytoplasmic components, and regenerates cellular building blocks; thus, autophagy maintains cellular and tissue homeostasis in all eukaryotic cells. In general, adaptive autophagy increases when cells confront stressful conditions to improve the survival rate of the cells, while destructive autophagy is activated when the cellular stress is not manageable and elicits the regenerative capacity. Hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) injury and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury initiate excessive autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and consequently induce a string of damage in mammalian tissues or organs. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapy has yielded promising results in repairing H/R- or I/R-induced injury in various tissues. However, MSC transplantation in vivo must overcome the barriers including the low survival rate of transplanted stem cells, limited targeting capacity, and low grafting potency; therefore, much effort is needed to increase the survival and activity of MSCs in vivo. Modulating autophagy regulates the stemness and the anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis, and pro-survival capacity of MSCs and can be applied to MSC-based therapy for repairing H/R- or I/R-induced cellular or tissue injury.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The potential mechanisms of I/R- and H/R-induced injury in organs
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Modulating autophagy regulates the stemness, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis of MSCs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Macroautophagy serves as a quality control mechanism for proteins and organelles in mammals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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