Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) alleviate excessive autophagy of ovarian granular cells through VEGFA/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in premature ovarian failure rat model

BACKGROUND: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is one of the leading causes of female infertility and is accompanied by abnormal endocrine, seriously affecting female quality of life. Previous studies have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation is a promising therapeutic strategy for POF. However, the mechanism remains obscure. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on ovarian function in the POF rat model and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: The ovarian function was evaluated by ovarian morphology, histology, estrous cycle, hormone levels (AMH, E2, FSH, and LH), and fertility ability to investigate the effect of hUC-MSCs on the POF rats model. The cytokines levels were assayed in serum using protein array to explore the mechanisms of hUC-MSCs therapy for POF. The excessive autophagy levels were evaluated using a co-culture system of 3D MSCs spheroids with human ovarian granulosa cell line (KGN) or primary ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) to understand the paracrine effect of hUC-MSCs on GCs. The related proteins expression of autophagy and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was detected using Western Blotting and/or in various inhibitors supplement to further demonstrate that vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) secreted by hUC-MSCs can alleviate excessive autophagy of ovarian GCs via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. The ovarian culture model in vitro was applied to confirm the mechanism. RESULTS: The ovarian function of POF and the excessive autophagy of ovarian GCs were restored after hUC-MSCs transplantation. The protein array result demonstrated that VEGF and PI3K/AKT might improve ovarian function. in vitro experiments demonstrated that VEGFA secreted by hUC-MSCs could decrease oxidative stress and inhibit excessive autophagy of ovarian GCs via PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The ovarian culture model results confirmed this mechanism in vitro. CONCLUSION: The hUC-MSCs can alleviate excessive autophagy of ovarian GCs via paracrine VEGFA and regulate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby improving the ovarian function of POF. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13048-023-01278-z.