title: Cerium oxide nanoparticles inhibit adipogenesis in rat mesenchymal stem cells: potential therapeutic implications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria, NC) have extraordinary antioxidant activity that made them suitable as a therapeutic agent for several diseases where reactive oxygen species (ROS) act by impairing the normal redox balance. Among different functions, it has been proven that ROS are cellular messengers involved in the adipogenesis: we thus investigated the implication of NC administration in the potential inhibition of adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) used as a model of adipogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated cytotoxic effects and adipogenic maturation of mesenchymal stem cells following in vitro NC administration, both at gene and at phenotype level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, our results demonstrated that NC efficiently inhibit the maturation of MSCs toward adipocytes owing to their ability to reduce the production of the ROS necessary during adipogenesis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings, even if preliminary, represent an important step toward the potential pharmaceutical application of NC in the treatment of obesity.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Micro-BioRobotics @SSSA, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Pisa, Italy, antonella.rocca@iit.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mattoli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mazzolai
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciofani
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002563:Cerium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002563:Cerium; C030583:ceric oxide