Extracellular vesicles from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells alleviate acute lung injury via the CBL/AMPK signaling pathway

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury (ALI) which is caused by Staphylococcus aureus (SA), is a serious lung disease that threatens human health. Although some current treatments are effective in alleviating ALI, they still have a significant mortality rate. At present, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been investigated for the treatment of various diseases. Here, we examined the role of ADSCs-derived EVs in regulating apoptosis and inflammation during ALI. RESULTS: We showed that ADSCs and ADSCs-derived EVs supplementation could improve lung injury, restore mitochondrial function, and inhibit inflammation and apoptosis in ALI mice. Furthermore, miR-320a was present in EVs derived from ADSCs, and it can be transferred into lung tissue. In vitro, Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (CBL) expression was inhibited by miR-320a mimics. Finally, we found that miR-320a alleviated mitochondrial damage, inflammation, and apoptosis via the CBL/AMPK/JNK pathway. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, EVs from ADSCs could alleviate ALI via the CBL/AMPK signaling pathway. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to investigate the application of ADSC-derived EVs in mitigating ALI by modulating metabolic processes.