Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jun 26, 2025; 17(6): 106520
Published online Jun 26, 2025. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v17.i6.106520
MiR-126 regulates the effect of mesenchymal stem cell vascular repair on carotid atherosclerosis through MAPK/ERK signaling pathway
Zi-Qiu Ye, Xiao-Hu Meng, Xin Fang, Han-Yi Liu, Hassan Hamisi Mwindadi
Zi-Qiu Ye, The Fourth School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Xiao-Hu Meng, Xin Fang, Han-Yi Liu, Department of Vascular Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital,Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province,China
Hassan Hamisi Mwindadi, The First Clinical Medical College, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Xiao-Hu Meng and Xin Fang.
Author contributions: Meng XH and Fang X are co-corresponding authors and contributed equally to this study. Fang X conceived the initial research idea, systematically designed the experimental protocols, and supervised the entire research process; Meng XH led all in vivo experimental procedures, ensuring the standardization of animal model construction and sample collection; Liu HY conducted all in vitro experiments, independently performed cell function assays and molecular mechanism investigations, and was responsible for data collection, organization, and statistical analysis; Ye ZQ drafted the initial manuscript and participated in multiple rounds of revision to optimize the logical presentation of the research results; Mwindadi HH provided professional language editing and polishing to ensure compliance with international academic standards. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Hangzhou Bio-Medicine and Health Industry Development Support Science and Technology Project, No. 2022WJC005 and No. 2024WJC105.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Qingdao Harwars Biology Group Ltd. (IACUC protocol number: No. AUP-QY-C-S-2024-004).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Hu Meng, Department of Vascular Surgery, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Westlake University School of Medicine, No. 261 Huansha Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang Province, China. 1193970654@qq.com
Received: February 28, 2025
Revised: April 2, 2025
Accepted: June 3, 2025
Published online: June 26, 2025
Processing time: 117 Days and 21 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Carotid atherosclerosis is closely linked to endothelial dysfunction, a relationship validated in rat models. As traditional drugs fall short in curing the disease and surgery carries risks, researchers are exploring gene-based therapies. MiR-126 emerges as a potential therapeutic factor. Experiments show it promotes mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into endothelial cells. Molecularly, miR-126 synergizes with the mitogen-activated protein kinases/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway. By modulating this pathway, miR-126 suppresses atherosclerotic lesion progression and shows promise in enhancing vascular health. These findings underscore the potential of miR-126 mimics in treating carotid atherosclerosis, laying a foundation for clinical translation.