Umbilical cord-derived exosomes attenuate pituitary injury following transient cerebral ischemia in rats

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of mortality and long-term disability worldwide. Increasing evidence suggests that ischemic stroke may in addition to causing cerebral injury, affect the pituitary gland. Exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSC-Exos) have emerged as potential cell-free therapeutic agents. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of intravenously administered hUC-MSC-derived exosomes on ischemia-induced pituitary injury in a rat model of transient cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. Transient cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was induced by unilateral common carotid artery occlusion in 21 male Wistar Albino rats. The rats were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 7 each): ischemic control, alteplase-treated, and hUC-MSC-derived exosome-treated. Fourteen days after surgery, pituitary glands were collected for histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation. Both treatment groups showed improved histopathological and immunohistochemical findings compared with the ischemic control group, with the most pronounced changes observed in the hUC-MSC-derived exosome-treated group (P