Mesenchymal Stem Cell and Secretome Treatments Inhibit the mTOR–NOX4 Pathway in Diabetic Kidney Disease
Despite advances in diabetes management, diabetic kidney disease (DKD) remains a leading cause of end-stage renal disease. We investigated whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their conditioned medium, containing the MSC-derived secretome, protect against DKD by modulating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/NADPH oxidase (NOX) pathway. MSCs and MSCs-conditioned medium both reduced kidney injury, podocyte structural integrity, oxidative stress, and inflammation by inhibiting mTORC1/mTORC2 and NOX4. MSCs-conditioned medium offers a safe, secretome-based, cell-free approach for DKD therapy.
Authors
- Hala Kfoury Kassouf
- Rachel Njeim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0501-395X)
- A Fayad
- Fadlo R. Khuri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8638-7618)
- Assaad A. Eid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3603-0960)
- Frédéric Harb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5882-1619)
- Batoul Dia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6291-472X)
- Sahar Alkhansa
- Amani Wissam Slika
- A. A. Eid
- Sarah Hamade
- Fuad N. Ziyadeh
- Leonard Lawandos
- Ghaith Al Danaf
- Sarah Almoussawi
Institutions
- University of Balamand (LB)
- American University of Beirut Medical Center (LB)
- Qatar University (QA)
- American University of Beirut (LB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diabetes
- Published
- 2026-03-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2337/db25-1036
- Primary Topic
- Dialysis and Renal Disease Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00