Abstract

Objects. Human umbilical cord Wharton jelly cells (HUCWJCs) treatment has been proven to be a useful treatment approach for various inflammatory diseases. This study investigated the therapeutic effect and mechanism of HUCWJCs on D-galactose-induced osteoporosis in mice. Methods. Sixteen male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: control (ordinary feeding), D-gal (D-galactose) group, D-gal + MSC (human umbilical cord Wharton jelly cells), and D-gal + MSC-TNFα groups. Except for the control group (fed with same amount of saline solution), other mice received gastric feeding of 250 mg/kg D-galactose every day for 8 weeks. TNFα (10 ng/mL for 24 h) cocultured or noncocultured HUCWJCs (5 × 105) were suspended in 0.1 ml of sterile PBS and injected into tail veins every other week in D-gal + MSC-TNFα and D-gal + MSC groups, respectively, and only 0.1 ml of sterile PBS for control and D-gal groups. The bone mass was detected by qPCR, ELISA, microcomputed tomography (μCT), and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation of periosteal-derived osteoblasts (POB) were assessed. Transwell assay and scratch healing were performed to detect POB migration and invasion ability. The effect of HUCWJCs on POB signaling pathway expression was evaluated by immunoblotting. Results. The malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum was higher and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was lower in the D-gal group compared to the other groups (). Mice in D-gal group showed significantly decreased bone mass when compared to the control group, while HUCWJCs treatment partially rescued the phenotype, as demonstrated by μCT and histology (). Mechanically, HUCWJCs treatment partially promoted proliferation and migration and decreased apoptosis of POB induced by oxidative stress via activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Conclusion. HUCWJCs can prevent the p