Embryonic stem and haematopoietic progenitor cells resist to Aβ oligomer toxicity and maintain the differentiation potency in culture.
Regenerative medicine deals with the possible use of stem cells to repair tissues damaged by aging and related diseases, including amyloidoses. In the latter case, the toxicity of the amyloid deposits can, in principle, question the possibility to graft specific tissues by undifferentiated cells. To assess whether stem cells are vulnerable to amyloid toxicity, we exposed, in culture, murine embryonic stem (ES) cells and haematopoietic progenitor (HP) cells to oligomers of the amyloidogenic peptide Aβ42 at concentrations previously shown to be cytotoxic to several other cell types. These stem cells did not display any sign of apoptosis and their survival, proliferation and differentiation were not affected by the oligomers although the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay revealed that ES, but not HP, cells displayed some impaired ability to reduce the tetrazole salts possibly as a result of transient oxidative stress. Our results support a remarkable resistance of the investigated stem cells against amyloids and hence their potential use in cell therapy of Alzheimer's disease and, possibly, other amyloid diseases.
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale di Ingegneria Tissutale, University of Pavia, Pavia.
Tui
T
Neri
Monica
M
Bucciantini
Vittorio
V
Rosti
Sara
S
Raimondi
Annalisa
A
Relini
Margherita
M
Massa
Maurizio
M
Zuccotti
Simona
S
Donadei
Massimo
M
Stefani
Carlo Alberto
CA
Redi
Giampaolo
G
Merlini
Monica
M
Stoppini
Silvia
S
Garagna
Vittorio
V
Bellotti
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides