Mechanism of exosomal miR-155 derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on stemness maintenance and drug resistance in myeloma cells

OBJECTIVE: This study was to explore the effect of exosomal miR-155 derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on stemness maintenance and drug resistance in MPC-11 multiple myeloma cells. METHODS: MPC-11 cells were transfected with mimics or inhibitors of miR-155. miR-155 expression was detected by qRT-PCR, cell condition was observed, and the expression of stemness maintenance markers OCT-4 and Nanog was observed by immunofluorescence. The expression of proteins associated with the Hedgehog signaling pathway and drug resistance was evaluated by western blot. To investigate whether exosomes affect cell behavior by horizontal delivery of miR-155, MPC-11 cells were co-cultured with exosomes isolated from BMSCs that were transfected with mimics or inhibitors of miR-155. Cell proliferation and the expression of proteins related to stemness maintenance protein and drug resistance were examined. RESULTS: In function assays, after miR-155-mimics transfection, the expression levels of proteins related to stemness maintenance marker, Hedgehog signaling, and drug resistance were increased in MPC-11 cells. BMSC-derived exosomes carrying miR-155 inhibited apoptosis, promoted cell division, and upregulated the expression of protein associated with stemness maintenance, Hedgehog signaling, and drug resistance. CONCLUSION: Therefore, our findings indicate that exosomal delivery of miR-155 exerted the same effect as transfection did on the stemness maintenance and drug resistance of multiple myeloma cells. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-021-02793-9.