Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-based
therapy provides a promising
therapy for the
ischemic heart disease (IHD). However, engrafted MSCs are subjected to acute cell death in the ischemic microenvironment, characterized by excessive
inflammation and oxidative stress in the host's infarcted myocardium.
Melatonin, an
indole, which is produced by many organs including pineal gland, has been shown to protect bone marrow MSCs against apoptosis although the mechanism of action remains elusive. Using a murine model of
myocardial infarction (MI), this study was designed to evaluate the impact of
melatonin on adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs)-based
therapy for MI and the underlying mechanism involved with a focus on silent information regulator 1(
SIRT1) signaling. Our results demonstrated that
melatonin promoted functional survival of AD-MSCs in infarcted heart and provoked a synergetic effect with AD-MSCs to restore heart function. This in vivo effect of
melatonin was associated with alleviated
inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress in infarcted heart. In vitro studies revealed that
melatonin exert cytoprotective effects on AD-MSCs against
hypoxia/serum deprivation (H/SD) injury via attenuating
inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Mechanistically,
melatonin enhanced
SIRT1 signaling, which was accompanied with the increased expression of
anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2, and decreased the expression of Ac-FoxO1, Ac-p53, Ac-NF-ΚB, and Bax. Taken together, our findings indicated that
melatonin facilitated AD-MSCs-based
therapy in MI, possibly through promoting survival of AD-MSCs via
SIRT1 signaling. Our data support the promise of
melatonin as a novel strategy to improve MSC-based
therapy for IHD, possibly through
SIRT1 signaling evocation.