title: Protective effect of berberine against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have the potential to be used for the treatment of delayed union, nonunion or persistent bone defects in MSC-based cell therapy. However, implantation of BMSCs into the fracture site is confronted with apoptosis on account of harsh conditions and oxidative stress. In the present study, the anti-apoptotic effects of berberine (BBR) on BMSCs subjected to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are investigated, and the potential underlying mechanisms are explored. Oxidative injury was induced by exposure to H2O2, and cell viability was assessed using a cell counting kit-8 assay. The apoptosis of BMSCs was measured by Hoechst 33258 and Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide assay. Reactive oxygen species staining and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay were applied to assess the anti-oxidative effect of BBR. Finally, western blot was performed to measure the expression levels of phosphorylated (p)-Akt, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and cleaved caspase-3. In the present study, it was identified that BBR remarkably attenuated H2O2-induced apoptotic cell death via quenching ROS production and increasing SOD activity. Further studies indicated that BBR can reduce apoptosis by upregulating the expression level of p-Akt and Bcl-2, and downregulating the expression levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. Taken together, the results of the present study demonstrate that pretreatment with BBR could alleviate H2O2-induced apoptosis in rat BMSCsin vitro.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wangyang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yamei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nianhong
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xunchao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510240, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yunpu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
keywords: apoptosis; berberine; bone; bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; oxidative stress