The Secretion from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Pretreated with Berberine Rescues Neurons with Oxidative Damage Through Activation of the Keap1-Nrf2-HO-1 Signaling Pathway

Oxidative stress is a potential pathological mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Berberine (BBR) can improve antioxidative capacity and inhibit Aβ protein aggregation and tau protein hyperphosphorylation in AD, and stem cell therapy is also increasingly recognized as a therapy for AD. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have many advantages, as they exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and secrete a variety of neurotrophic factors, and play important roles in neurodegenerative disease treatment. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant effects of secretions from BMSCs pretreated with BBR on tert -butyl hydroperoxide ( t -BHP)–damaged neurons. We demonstrated that BBR can enhance BMSC viability and the secretion of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), both of which are vital neurotrophic factors that maintain neuronal growth. Moreover, conditioned medium from BBR-treated BMSCs (BBR-BMSC-CM) reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, attenuated a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and ameliorated neuronal apoptosis by decreasing levels of the apoptotic proteins Bax/Bcl-2, cytochrome c, and cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3. In addition, increased synaptophysin (SYP) and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) levels indicated that neuronal synaptic function was restored. Further study revealed that BBR-BMSC-CM activated the antioxidant proteins Keap1, Nrf2, and HO-1. In conclusion, our results showed that BBR-BMSC-CM attenuated apoptosis and oxidative damage in neurons by activating the Keap1-Nrf2-HO-1 signaling pathway. Taken together, these results also suggest BBR as a drug to stimulate the secretion of nutritional cytokines with the potential to treat AD.