HGF Secreted by Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Promotes Primordial Follicle Activation by Increasing the Activity of the PI3K-AKT Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Primordial follicle activation is fundamental for folliculogenesis and for the maintenance of fertility. An effective therapeutic strategy for patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is to promote the activation of residual primordial follicles. The secretome of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSC-sec) contains several components that might promote the activation of primordial follicles. In the present study, we revealed that treatment with the hUC-MSC-sec significantly increased the proportion of activated primordial follicles in mouse ovaries both in vitro and in vivo. The activating effects of hUC-MSC-sec on primordial follicles were attributed to the activation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway by hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). While the effect of the hUC-MSC-sec was attenuated by the neutralizing antibodies against HGF, application of exogenous HGF alone also promoted the activation of primordial follicles. Furthermore, we demonstrated that HGF promoted the expression of KITL in granulosa cells by binding with the HGF receptor c-Met, thereby increasing the activity of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway to activate primordial follicles. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that hUC-MSC-sec promotes primordial follicle activation through the functional component HGF to increase the PI3K-AKT signaling activity, highlighting the application of the hUC-MSC-sec or HGF for the treatment of POI patients. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]