Activin A secreted by human mesenchymal stem cells induces neuronal development and neurite outgrowth in an in vitro model of Alzheimer’s disease: neurogenesis induced by MSCs via activin A

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by progressive loss of memory in addition to cortical atrophy. Cortical atrophy in AD brains begins in the parietal and temporal lobes, which are near the subventricular zone (SVZ). The aim of this study was to activate the neurogenesis in the SVZ of AD brains by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Neural stem cells (NSCs) were isolated from SVZ of 4-month-old 5XFAD mice. Co-culture of hMSCs with SVZ-derived NSCs from 5XFAD mice induced neuronal development and neurite outgrowth. To examine the inducing factor of neurogenesis, human cytokine array was performed with co-cultured media, and revealed elevated release of activin A from hMSCs. Also, we confirmed that the mRNA levels of activin A and activin receptor in the SVZ of 5XFAD mice were significantly lower than normal mice. Treatment of human recombinant activin A in SVZ-derived NSCs from 5XFAD mice induced neuronal development and neurite outgrowth. These data suggest that use of hMSCs and activin A to recover neurogenesis in future studies of cortical regeneration to treat AD.