Objective: Disruption of cholesterol homeostasis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) plays a crucial role in disease pathogenesis, making it a potential therapeutic target. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show promise in treating cognitive impairment and provide a novel therapeutic approach. This study aims to investigate the effects of MSCs on specific metabolites associated with brain cholesterol homeostasis in an AD rat model.
Materials and methods: In this experimental study, animals were divided into three groups: control, AD, and AD+MSCs. AD was induced using amyloid beta (Aβ) and confirmed through the Morris water maze (MWM) behavioural test and Congo red staining. MSCs were extracted, characterised via flow cytometry, subjected to osteoblast and adipose differentiation, and injected intraventricularly. The cholesterol metabolite levels were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC)-MS and compared among the groups.
Results: Treatment with MSCs significantly improved memory function in the AD+MSCs group compared to the AD group and the number of beta-amyloid plaques decreased according to histological assessment. Disturbances in the brain cholesterol metabolites that included desmosterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, 24S-hydroxycholesterol, 27-hydroxycholesterol and cholesterol were observed in the AD group compared to the control group. Treatment with MSCs resulted in significant alterations in the levels of these metabolites.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that MSC therapy has the potential to improve AD by modulating brain cholesterol homeostasis and promoting the differentiation of stem cells into nerve cells. The results emphasize the importance of investigating the role of cholesterol metabolites in the context of MSC therapy to gain deeper insights into underlying mechanisms of the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs in AD.
Keywords: 24-Hydroxycholesterol; 27-Hydroxycholesterol; 7-Dehydrocholesterol; Alzheimer’s Disease; Desmosterol.