Agouti Related Peptide Secreted Via Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Upregulates Proteasome Activity in an Alzheimer's Disease Model

Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 4:7:39340. doi: 10.1038/srep39340.

Abstract

The activity of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is downregulated in aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of the Agouti-related peptide (AgRP), which is secreted by human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), in terms of its effect on the regulation of proteasome activity in AD. When SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were co-cultured with MSCs isolated from human Wharton's Jelly (WJ-MSC), their proteasome activity was significantly upregulated. Further analysis of the conditioned media after co-culture allowed us to identify significant concentrations of a neuropeptide, called AgRP. The stereotactic delivery of either WJ-MSCs or AgRP into the hippocampi of C57BL6/J and 5XFAD mice induced a significant increase of proteasome activity and suppressed the accumulation of ubiquitin-conjugated proteins. Collectively, these findings suggest strong therapeutic potential for WJ-MSCs and AgRP to enhance proteasome activity, thereby potentially reducing abnormal protein aggregation and delaying the clinical progression of various neurodegenerative diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agouti-Related Protein / metabolism*
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology*
  • Animals
  • Biological Therapy
  • Cell Line
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Models, Biological
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / metabolism*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Up-Regulation*

Substances

  • AGRP protein, human
  • Agouti-Related Protein
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex