Functionally Enhanced Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Inhibit Adipogenesis in Orbital Fibroblasts With Graves’ Ophthalmopathy

The study investigated the effects of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PD-MSCs) overexpressing phosphatase of regenerating liver-1 (PRL-1) on adipogenesis in orbital fibroblasts (OFs) from patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO). The researchers found that these modified stem cells, when cocultured with OFs, significantly reduced lipid accumulation and decreased the expression of adipogenic markers compared to naïve cells. This effect was linked to the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) by the PD-MSCs PRL-1, which downregulated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and upregulated phosphorylated FAK. The study concluded that functionally enhanced PD-MSCs could offer a novel therapeutic strategy for treating degenerative diseases like GO.