miR125a attenuates BMSCs apoptosis via the MAPK-ERK pathways in the setting of craniofacial defect reconstruction

Bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-based regenerative therapy is critical for the craniofacial defect reconstruction. However, oxidative stress microenvironment after transplantation limits the therapeutic efficiency of BMSC. The miR-181c has been found to be associated with cell survival and proliferation. Herein, we investigated whether prior miR-181c treatment promoted BMSC proliferation and survival under oxidative stress injury. The results in our study demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide (H₂ O₂ ) treatment reduced BMSC viability and this effect could be reversed via additional supplementation of miR181-c. Mechanistically, oxidative stress increased cell apoptosis, augmented caspase-3 activity, promoted reactive oxygen species synthesis, impaired mitochondrial potential, and induced mitochondrial dynamics imbalance. However, miR-181c pretreatment reversed these effects of oxidative stress on BMSC. Moreover, miR-181c treatment improved BMSC proliferation, migration and paracrine, which are very important for craniofacial reconstruction. In addition, we identified that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mitofusins-1 (Mfn1) axis was the direct targets of miR-181c in BMSC. Mfn1 silencing impaired the protective effects miR-181c on BMSC viability and proliferation under oxidative stress environment. Collectively, our results indicate that miR-181c participates in oxidative stress-mediated BMSC damage by modulating the AMPK-Mfn1 signaling pathway, suggesting miR-181c-AMPK-Mfn1 axis may serves as novel therapeutic targets to facilitate craniofacial defect reconstruction.