Cell lines and culture
MM cell lines (RPMI8226, U266, Provided by Shanghai Institute of Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) were cultured in Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% penicillinstreptomycin. BM-MSCs and UC-MSCs were grown in L-Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (L-DMEM) supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% penicillinstreptomycin.
Isolation of human BM-MSCs and UC-MSCs
Human BM-MSCs were purified using Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and the adherent method. Cells at 3 ~ 5 generation were selected for the experiments, and their immunophenotypes were identified using flow cytometry.
UC-MSCs were extracted using the tissue block adhesion method. The umbilical cord tissue was washed twice with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and thoroughly cleaned to remove any blockages. After cleaning and disinfecting with ethanol, the umbilical vein was removed and the umbilical cord was cut into small pieces (about 1 cm long) and evenly spread in a 100 mm2 petri dish. Then, L-DMEM complete medium containing 10% FBS was added to the wall after attachment, and the dish was placed in a 5% CO2 incubator at 37 ℃ for primary culture. We exchanged the medium every 3 days, and when the cells reached 80% confluence, they were passaged. The immunophenotypes of the cells at 3 ~ 5 generation were identified using flow cytometry.
Osteogenesis lipid induction experiment
Third generation UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs in good condition were trypsin digested and seeded in a labeled 6-well plate at a density of 2×104 cells/well. When the cells reached about 40% confluence, the medium was replaced with 2 mL of osteogenic induction medium (DMEM medium containing 10% FBS, 0.1 µmol/L dexamethasone, 10 mmol/L βglycerophosphate, 50 mg/L vitamin C, 100 mg/L penicillin, and 100 U/mL streptomycin). Alizarin red staining was performed on the 14th day. The cells were fixed for 30 min using 40 g/L paraformaldehyde, washed thrice using PBS, and stained using 2% alizarin red S for 20 min at room temperature. The formation of mineralized nodules was observed under an optical microscope.
Healthy UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs from passage 3 were seeded in 6-well plates at a density of 2×104 cells/well, and grown until they reached 100% confluence. The medium was replaced with 2 mL of adipogenic induction medium (DMEM medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 1 µmol/L dexamethasone, 60 µmol/L indomethacin, 0.5 mmol/L 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine, 100 mg/L penicillin, and 100 U/mL streptomycin). The adipogenic induction medium was replaced every 3 days. Oil red O staining was performed on the 14th day. The induced cells were fixed for 30 min using 40 g/L paraformaldehyde, was hed thrice using PBS, and then stained using oil red O staining solution for 30 min at room temperature. An optical microscope was used to observe the stained cells.
Inducing cell senescence
To induce cellular senescence, MSCs were subjected to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidative stress. Semi-confluent cells were exposed to 200 µM H2O2 for 2 h. Thereafter, the cells rinsed using PBS and grown for 3 days in fresh medium. To evaluate cell senescence, according to the manufacturer's instructions, we carried out a βgalactosidase assay using a senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining kit (SAβGal; Beyotime, Jiangsu, China). In each group (n = 3), senescent cells were viewed using an optical microscope and images were obtained from three random fields.
Collection of concentrated supernatants of MSCs
The different MSCs (BM-MSCs, UC-MSCs), senescent BM-MSCs (SBM-MSCs), and senescent UC-MSCs (SUC-MSCs) were inoculated into 100 mm2 dishes at 1×106 cells. After the cells reached approximately 80% confluence, the medium was replaced with serum-free L-DMEM, and after 48 h, we collected the supernatant by centrifugation at 4 ℃ for 60 min at centrifugal force 5300×g using a truncated 100 kDa ultrafiltration tube. The collected concentrated solution was filtered and stored at -80°C.
3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to evaluate cell viability
RPMI8226 and U266 cells were seeded into 96-well plates at 100 µL/well (1×104 cells/ml) and incubated at 37°C overnight in a 5% CO2 humidified incubator. Thereafter, the cells were then pretreated with various concentrated supernatants of MSCs (BM-MSCs, UCMSCs, SBM-MSCs, SUC-MSCs) for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 days. Then, MTT solution (20 µL) was added to each well, followed by incubation for 4 h at 37°C with 5% CO2. Finally, a microplate reader was used to determine the absorbance at 570 nm.
Cell Apoptosis analysis using flow cytometry
Healthy RPMI8226 and U266 cells were inoculated into sterile 25 cm2 culture flasks at 1×105 cells/bottle and grown in a CO2 atmosphere for 12 h. After synchronization, different MSCs concentrated supernatants (BM-MSCs, UC-MSCs, SBM-MSCs, and SUC-MSCs) were added to the medium and culture was continued for 48 h. The cells were collected by centrifugation (5 min at 1000 rpm). The supernatant was removed, the cells were resuspended in 500 µL of PBS, and then added with Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (5 µL) and propidium iodide (PI) (5 µL), mixed, and reacted at room temperature for 15 min in the dark.
Cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry
Healthy RPMI8226 and U266 cells were inoculated into sterile 25 cm2 culture flasks at 1×105 cells/bottle and grown in a CO2 atmosphere for 12 h. After synchronization, different MSCs concentrated supernatants (BM-MSCs, UC-MSCs, SBM-MSCs, and SUC-MSCs) were added to the medium and cultured was continued for 48 h. The cells were collected by centrifugation (3100 g, 5 min), washed using pre-cooled PBS, centrifuged again, and resuspended in pre-cooled PBS. Precooled 70% ethanol was added to the suspension, which was incubated overnight at 4°C for fixation. Next day, the fixed cells were centrifuged and the cell pellet was washed twice using PBS. Then, RNase A (50 µL) and PI (450 µL) and were added and the cells were incubated for 30 min at 4°C. Finally, flow cytometry was used to analyze the cell cycle (BD C6 Plus Cell Analyzer). The results were analyzed using FlowJo 10.0 software (Tree Star Inc., Ashland, OR, USA).
Transwell invasion assay
Analysis of cell migration and invasion capacity was carried out using transwell assays. We added 1×105 cells (200 µL) into the upper chamber of the transwell cassette (8 µm, Corning Inc., Corning, NY, USA) and different MSCs concentrated supernatants (BM-MSCs, UC-MSCs, SBM-MSCs, and SUC-MSCs) were added according to the experimental requirements. We added 600 µL of RPMI-1640 medium with 20% FBS to the lower chamber. After 48 h, the cells remaining in the upper chamber were wiped off, and 10 µL of 10 mg/ml MTT were added to each well and incubated at 37°C for 4 h. We removed the supernatant, added 150 µL of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 15 ~ 20 min. Thereafter, a microplate reader was used to determine the OD values at 570 nm.
Western Blotting analysis
Radioimmunoprecipitation (RIPA) lysis buffer containing phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), phosphatase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors, was used to extract total proteins from cells. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE; 6–12%) (Solarbio, Beijing, China) was used to separate equal amounts of protein, which were then transferred electrophoretically to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes (0.45 µM, Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA). 5% skim milk was used to block the membranes at room temperature for 1 h. The membranes were then incubated gently overnight at 4°C with the following primary antibodies: anti-phosphorylated protein 53 (P53), antiglyceral- dehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), anti-cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21), anti-nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), antiphosphati dylinositol-4,5-bispho- sphate 3-kinase (PI3K), anti-phosphorylated (P)PI3K, anti-protein kinase B (AKT), antiPAKT (1:1,000; Beyotime), anti-cyclin dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), antiCyclinE1, anti-SRY-box transcription factor 2 (SOX2), anti-NANOG, antioctamer-bind -ing protein 4 (OCT4) (1:1,000; ProteinTech, Rosemont, IL, USA), anti-Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), anti-interleukin-6 (IL6), anti-E-Cadherin and anti-N-Cadherin (1:1,000; Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA). The membranes were washed thrice using Tri-buffered salineTween 20 (TBST, Solarbio) and then incub-ated with goat anti-rabbit and goat anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-linked secondary antibodies 1:5000 (Boster, Wuhan, China) at room temperature for 2 h. Finally, the immunoreactive protein bands were detected using ultra-sensitive ECL chemiluminescence (Boster). Image J software (NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA) was used to quantify the grey values of the protein bands, normalized to that of GAPDH.
Functional exploration of differentially expressed genes from MM
The PrognoScan database (http://dna00.bio.kyutech.ac.jp/PrognoScan/) was utilized to aggregate all available datasets, providing a convenient and reliable method for investigating the prognostic significance of genes. We employed the PrognoScan GSE2658 of database data to assess the prognostic relevance of core target molecules across MM, the endpoint was disease specific survival. The threshold for inclusion in further analysis was established as p corrected < 0.05.
The gene expression analysis dataset GSE6477 was downloaded from the GEO database http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/, and included 149 MM patient samples and 13 healthy subjects as training datasets. The expression difference between IL-6 and VEGFA was analyzed using R.4.3.2 language.
Statistical analysis
All data are shown as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism software (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). Differences between or among groups were analyzed using Student’s t-test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Statistical significance was indicated by P values less than 0.05.