EphB2 signaling-mediated Sirt3 expression reduces MSC senescence by maintaining mitochondrial ROS homeostasis

Disruption of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) homeostasis is a key factor inducing UCB-MSC senescence. Accordingly, preventing mtROS accumulation will help in suppressing the UCB-MSC senescence. In this study, we observed that the expressions of EphrinB2 and EphB2 were inversely regulated by UCB-MSC passage-dependent manner. EphB2 signaling induced mitochondrial translocation of Sirt3. The knockdown of SIRT3 inhibited the effect of EphB2 signaling in UCB-MSCs. Subsequently, EphrinB2-Fc induced the nuclear translocation of Nrf-2 via c-Src phosphorylation dependent manner, and Sirt3 expression was regulated by Nrf-2. Among Sirt3 target genes, EphB2 signaling increased MnSOD and reduced the mtROS level in UCB-MSCs. Furthermore, the deacetylase effect of Sirt3 enhanced the MnSOD activity by deacetylation at the lysine 68 residue and therapeutic effect of UCB-MSCs on skin-wound healing was increased by EphB2 activation. In conclusion, the EphB2 can serve as a novel target for the optimizing the therapeutic use of UCB-MSCs in wound repair by MnSOD-mediated mtROS scavenging through EphB2/c-Src signaling pathway and Nrf-2-dependent Sirt3 expression.