Abstract

Objective It has been studied that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived exosomes could suppress tumor growth in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and microRNA-181a (miR-181a) could mediate drug resistance in NPC. Focused on this work, the mechanism of human umbilical cord MSCs (hUC-MSCs)-derived exosomal miR-181a was explored in NPC cell progression. Methods NPC tissues and normal tissues were obtained from patients, and miR-181a and KDM5C expression was examined. hUC-MSCs-derived exosomes were extracted, identified and co-cultured with NPC cells (C666-1 and SUNE1). C666-1 cell progression in vitro and/or tumor growth in vivo were examined after incubation with exosomes, miR-181a or lysine-specific demethylase 5C (KDM5C). miR-181a and KDM5C expression were examined in NPC. Results miR-181a expression was reduced while KDM5C expression was elevated in NPC. hUC-MSCs-derived exosomes restrained NPC cell growth in vivo and in vitro. Depleting or restoring exosomal miR-181a promoted or delayed NPC cell progression. KDM5C silencing suppressed NPC cell progression. Conclusion This study concluded that hUC-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-181a retards NPC development via negatively modulating KDM5C, serving as a candidate reference for the therapy of NPC.