{
  "abstract": "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder marked by social deficits, repetitive behaviors, and psychiatric comorbidities. Despite its rising global prevalence, effective treatments remain elusive. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) offer therapeutic promise for ASD, although their mechanisms are unclear. Here, we show that induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived MSCs alleviate anxiety, grooming, and social impairments in Shank3B knockout mice, a monogenic ASD model. Intravenously infused MSCs localize to the neurohypophysis, interface with oxytocin (OT)–producing neuron axons, and activate OT + neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). MSC treatment also reduces autistic-like phenotypes in BTBR T + Itpr3tf /J mice, a model of idiopathic ASD, in an OT + neuron–dependent manner. Mechanistically, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) secreted by MSCs instigates the activation of OT + neuron, while suppression of PGE2 production via short hairpin RNA (shRNA)–mediated knockdown of PTGS1 and PTGES diminishes their therapeutic efficacy. These findings reveal a mechanism whereby MSCs modulate OT + neuroendocrine circuits to improve ASD-related behaviors.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, Key Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "Department of Histoembryology and Cell Biology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Joint Laboratory of Sun Yat-sen University and Gaozhou People’s Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.",
    "Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China.",
    "Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell Precision Therapy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiujiang University, Jiujiang 332005, China.",
    "Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou 510630, China.",
    "Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diabetology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China."
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 21,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yinong Huang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7364-2894"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yixuan Liu",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-0572-7164"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Yilin Liu",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-5693-3594"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hongjie Liang",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-0542-4455"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yunli Tong",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-3743-3403"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ruijie Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xiaoran Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yiling Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Yiwen Deng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jihao Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yue Shu",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-7747-467X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Qiying Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yuan Qiu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jinsi Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5127-3100"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yucheng Ba"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jiayun Fang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jiang Hao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Weiqiang Li",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4741-6778"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haipeng Xiao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4188-336X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Weijun Huang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4045-6320"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2,
        3,
        4,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Andy Peng Xiang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3409-5012"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2x1w3yqbrwc95.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1126/sciadv.adt4995",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2x1w3yqbrwc95",
  "issns": [
    "2375-2548"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt4995",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221120888",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": "American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2x1w3yqbrwc95.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:41Z",
      "native_id": "10.1126/sciadv.adt4995",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt4995"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "HPSC-derived mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate murine autistic-like phenotypes through activating oxytocinergic neurons",
  "title_text": "HPSC-derived mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate murine autistic-like phenotypes through activating oxytocinergic neurons",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2x1w3yqbrwc95",
  "venue": "Science Advances",
  "versions": []
}