Fig. 4

iMSC-sEV treatment alleviates stroke-induced autophagy in vivo and in vitro. Ipsilateral infarct brain tissue was harvested 24 h after MCAO or Sham operation for western blotting analysis (a–b) or TEM observation (c). a, b Protein expression levels of autophagy associated proteins including LC3-II/LC3-I, Beclin-1, and P62 in the indicated groups. N = 3–5 per group. c Representative images of TEM showing autophagy-related morphological change after MCAO. Red arrow: autophagosome. Scale bar = 1 μm. d–f HUVECs were cultured in OGD condition for 8 h, followed by normoxia condition with the treatment of iMSC-sEV or vehicle for another 24 h. HUVECs cultured under normoxia condition without treatment were used as control. d, e Western blotting was used to evaluate LC3-II/LC3-I, Beclin-1, and P62 protein levels in HUVECs. N = 3 per group. f Representative TEM images of HUVECs with or without OGD challenge. Red arrow: autophagosome. Scale bar = 1 μm. Data are presented as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05