Enteric nervous system (ENS) injury, characterized by progressive degeneration of enteric neurons and glial cells, is a common diabetic complication with no effective cure beyond symptomatic management. Enteric neural precursor cells (ENPCs) play a key role in maintaining neurogenesis and gliogenesis within the adult ENS. Here, we demonstrate that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived microvesicles (BMSC-MVs) alleviate diabetic ENS injury. In both diabetic patients and mouse models, gastrointestinal transit was delayed, ENS structure was impaired, and neurogenesis and gliogenesis from ENPCs were elevated yet remained functionally insufficient. Transcriptomic profiling revealed activation of ER stress and the pro-apoptotic PERK branch of the unfolded protein response in ENPCs. BMSC-MVs homed to the colon, were internalized by ENPCs, and suppressed ER stress, thereby enhancing functional neurogenesis and gliogenesis, restoring ENS structure, and improving gastrointestinal motility. Mechanistically, vinculin on BMSC-MVs bound talin-1 on ENPCs, activating the ERK pathway to suppress diabetic ER stress. These results identify BMSC-MVs as a promising cell-free therapeutic strategy for diabetic ENS injury.
Shi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.