FIR-preconditioning promotes Akt-mTOR-exosome manufacture in cooperation with MITF to boost resilience of rat bone marrow-derived stem cells

A previous study from our laboratory observed the protective effects of far-infrared irradiation (FIR) on bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) against oxidative stress. However, it remains unknown precisely how FIR influences BMSC survival. We identify an unexpected route among the expression of MITF, BCL2, mTOR, and exosome in FIR-preconditioned BMSCs. MITF siRNA demonstrated that loss of MITF expression not only inhibited cell proliferation but also reduced the FIR-mediated expression of mTOR, BCL2, and exosome. mTOR signaling pathways have been implicated in cell growth, proliferation, and survival. We also found that rapamycin, a potent and selective inhibitor of mTOR, when combined with MITF siRNA, repressed FIR-mediated CD63 and BCL2 expression. In addition, FIR-preconditioned BMSCs demonstrated more tolerance in multiple stressful environments than untreated BMSCs. The elevated exosomes in conditioned medium derived from FIR-preconditioned BMSCs also repaired H9c2 cells that sustained cellular damage after subjected to an array of environmental stress conditions. Taken together, these results reveal a possible mechanism about how FIR-preconditioned BMSCs and its conditioned media could contribute to cellular resilience during environmental changes via MITF-Akt-mTOR associated with exosome manufacture. FIR preconditioning could thus complement and improve therapeutic applications of BMSCs on outcomes of various disorders.