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Protective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived conditioned medium on ovarian damage
Liming Hong1,† , Long Yan2,† , Zhimin Xin1 , Jie Hao2 , Wenjing Liu2 , Shuyu Wang1 , Shujie Liao3 , Hongmei Wang2,* , Xiaokui Yang1,*
1Department of Human Reproductive Medicine, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China
2State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
3Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Reproductive Medical Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
These authors contributed equally to this work.
*Correspondence to:Hongmei Wang , Email:wanghm@ioz.ac.cn Xiaokui Yang , Email:xiaokuiyang2012@163.com;
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 12, Issue 5, May 2020, 372-385,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjz105
Keyword: stem cell, ovarian damage, RNA sequencing

Chemotherapeutic agents are extensively used to treat malignancies. However, chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage and reduced fertility are severe side effects. Recently, stem cell transplantation has been reported to be an effective strategy for premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) treatment, but safety can still be an issue in stem cell-based therapy. Here, we show the protective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived conditioned medium (hUCMSC-CM) on a cisplatin (Cs)-induced ovarian injury model. hUCMSC-CM can relieve Cs-induced depletion of follicles and preserve fertility. In addition, hUCMSC-CM can decrease apoptosis of oocytes and granulosa cells induced by Cs. RNA sequencing analysis reveals the differentially expressed genes of ovaries after Cs and hUCMSC-CM treatments, including genes involved in cell apoptosis. Furthermore, we show that the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway plays an important role in protecting granulosa cells from Cs-induced apoptosis. Together, we confirm the protective effects of hUCMSC-CM on ovarian reserve and fertility in mice treated with Cs, highlighting the remarkable therapeutic effects of hUCMSC-CM.