title: [Silymarin Protects Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells against Apoptosis Induced by Serum-Deprivation].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the protection of silymarin against the human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) apoptosis induced by serum deprivation and its underlying mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Human umbilical cord MSCs were cultured in the absence of serum, and the silymain of different concentration (1-10 µg/ml) was added into the medium. MTT test was performed to observe the cell proliferation status. After being cultured for 72 hours, the cells were collected, and flow cytometry with Annexin-V-PI double-staining was used to detect the apoptotic cells from the control and silymarin-treated groups. Furthermore, the intracellular contents of BAX and BCL-2 were detected by Western blot for exploring the potential mechanism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The silymarin promoted the proliferation of human UC-MSCs in a dose-dependent manner, reaching its maximal at a dose of 5 µg/ml. Moreover, silymarin could inhibit the serum deprivation-induced apoptosis of MSCs and, the inhibitory rate reached up to 30% when it was added at a concentration of 5 µg/ml. The content of intracellular BAX was obviously elevated after serum-deprivation treatment, and this increase could be blunted by the addition of silymarin. Meanwhile, the content of BCL-2 was not obviously changed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The silymarin can stimulate MSC growth and inhibit the apoptosis of MSCs probably by the mitochondria pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese Air Force, Beijing 100042.
authors.forename: Xiao-Juan
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese Air Force, Beijing 100042.
authors.forename: Hong-Chao
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiation and Medicine, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Kuan
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, An Hui 230032, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, An Hui 230032, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Lei-Lei
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese Air Force, Beijing 100042. E-mail: liu_chaozhong@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Chao-Zhong
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D008928:Mitochondria; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D012838:Silymarin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C494826:BAX protein, human; C000595707:BCL2 protein, human; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012838:Silymarin; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein