Antibacterial Potential of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Against: An ExperimentalandStudy.
Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine
() is an opportunistic anaerobic pathogen associated with severe soft tissue and gastrointestinal infections and increasing antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to evaluate theantibacterial activity of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC)-derived exosomes againstand to explore potential exosome-enzyme interactions usingprotein-protein docking. This study was conducted at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, in 2025. In this experimentalandstudy, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) were isolated from term umbilical cords (UCs), characterized, and induced into osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Exosomes were isolated using a commercial precipitation kit and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and flow cytometry for CD63 expression. The antibacterial activity of exosomes againstATCC 2592 was evaluated by a broth microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay under anaerobic conditions. Optical density (OD600) values were recorded and compared across exosome concentrations. Protein-protein docking was performed between exosomal proteins and four essentialenzymes using ClusPro. OD600 values were compared across exosome concentrations using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P<0.05). hUC-MSCs displayed typical spindle-shaped morphology, tri-lineage differentiation potential, and a mesenchymal immunophenotype. Isolated exosomes were spherical nanovesicles
Abstract
() is an opportunistic anaerobic pathogen associated with severe soft tissue and gastrointestinal infections and increasing antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to evaluate theantibacterial activity of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC)-derived exosomes againstand to explore potential exosome-enzyme interactions usingprotein-protein docking. This study was conducted at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, in 2025. In this experimentalandstudy, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) were isolated from term umbilical cords (UCs), characterized, and induced into osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Exosomes were isolated using a commercial precipitation kit and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and flow cytometry for CD63 expression. The antibacterial activity of exosomes againstATCC 2592 was evaluated by a broth microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay under anaerobic conditions. Optical density (OD600) values were recorded and compared across exosome concentrations. Protein-protein docking was performed between exosomal proteins and four essentialenzymes using ClusPro. OD600 values were compared across exosome concentrations using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P<0.05). hUC-MSCs displayed typical spindle-shaped morphology, tri-lineage differentiation potential, and a mesenchymal immunophenotype. Isolated exosomes were spherical nanovesicles (~30-100 nm) with high CD63 positivity. UC-MSC-derived exosomes inhibitedgrowth in a dose-dependent manner. At 500 µg/mL, exosomes achieved 95.1% inhibition with an OD600 of 0.12±0.03 vs. 2.45±0.10 in the growth control (n=3, P<0.001). Docking analysis suggested favorableinteractions between Hsp70 andRNA polymerase and ATP synthase, and between cathelicidin and DNA gyrase, with lower but consistent docking scores for Annexin A1 across targets. hUC-MSC-derived exosomes exerted significantantibacterial effects againstand exhibited favorableinteractions with key bacterial enzymes.