%0 Journal Article
%T Human menstrual blood-derived stem cells alleviate autoimmune hepatitis via JNK/MAPK signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro.
%A Zhang F
%A Xiao L
%A Yang Y
%A Zhou M
%A Zhao Y
%A Xie Z
%A Ouyang X
%A Ji F
%A Tang S
%A Li L
%J Front Med
%V 17
%N 3
%D Jun 2023 3
%M 37010727
%F 9.927
%R 10.1007/s11684-022-0953-y
%X Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a severe globally distributed liver disease that could occur at any age. Human menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) have shown therapeutic effect in acute lung injury and liver failure. However, their role in the curative effect of AIH remains unclear. Here, a classic AIH mouse model was constructed through intravenous injection with concanavalin A (Con A). MenSCs were intravenously injected while Con A injection in the treatment groups. The results showed that the mortality by Con A injection was significantly decreased by MenSCs treatment and liver function tests and histological analysis were also ameliorated. The results of phosphoproteomic analysis and RNA-seq revealed that MenSCs improved AIH, mainly by apoptosis and c-Jun N-terminal kinase/mitogen-activated protein signaling pathways. Apoptosis analysis demonstrated that the protein expression of cleaved caspase 3 was increased by Con A injection and reduced by MenSCs transplantation, consistent with the TUNEL staining results. An AML12 co-culture system and JNK inhibitor (SP600125) were used to verify the JNK/MAPK and apoptosis signaling pathways. These findings suggested that MenSCs could be a promising strategy for AIH.