Mesenchymal stromal cell-derived exosomes attenuate myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury through miR-182-regulated macrophage polarization

AIMS: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) gradually become attractive candidates for cardiac inflammation modulation, yet understanding of the mechanism remains elusive. Strikingly, recent studies indicated that exosomes secreted by MSCs might be a novel mechanism for the beneficial effect of MSCs transplantation after myocardial infarction. We therefore explored the role of MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) in the immunomodulation of macrophages after myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) and its implications in cardiac injury repair. METHODS AND RESULTS: Exosomes were isolated from the supernatant of MSCs using gradient centrifugation method. Administration of MSC-Exo to mice through intramyocardial injection after myocardial I/R reduced infarct size and alleviated inflammation level in heart and serum. Systemic depletion of macrophages with clodronate liposomes abolished the curative effects of MSC-Exo. MSC-Exo modified the polarization of M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages both in vivo and in vitro. miRNA sequencing of MSC-Exo and bioinformatics analysis implicated miR-182 as a potent candidate mediator of macrophage polarization and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) as a downstream target. Diminishing miR-182 in MSC-Exo partially attenuated its modulation of macrophage polarization. Likewise, knock down of TLR4 also conferred cardioprotective efficacy and reduced inflammation level in a mouse model of myocardial I/R. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that MSC-Exo attenuates myocardial I/R injury in mice via shuttling miR-182 that modifies the polarization status of macrophages. This study sheds new light on the application of MSC-Exo as a potential therapeutic tool for myocardial I/R injury.