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Protective effects of acetyl-l-carnitine against serum and glucose deprivation-induced apoptosis in rat adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

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Abstract

Low survival rate of grafted mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in injured tissue is one of the major limitations of stem cell therapy. One of the most important factors that limits the MSCs survival rate and retention is ischemic stress, which can lead to damage to all components of the cell. In particular, it can damage mitochondria, that play an important role in apoptosis with releasing apoptotic factors. Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR) against serum and glucose deprivation (SGD) in adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs). We measured cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis in cells experiencing SGD stress for 8 h with exposure to varying concentrations of ALCAR. Results showed that ALCAR protects cells against SGD stress by reducing apoptosis. Its protective effects are associated with reductions in cleaved caspase-3 and attenuation of apoptosis. Result showed that ALCAR exhibits protective effects against SGD-induced damage to AD-MSCs by enhancing the expression of survival signals and by decreasing the expression of death signals.

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Abbreviations

MSC:

Mesenchymal stem cells

ALCAR:

Acetyl-l-carnitine

SGD:

Serum and glucose deprivation

AD-MSCs:

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

PBS:

Phosphate buffered saline

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

SVF:

Stromal-vascular fraction

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

TdT:

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase

TUNEL:

dUTP-biotin nick end labeling

PI:

Propidium iodide

SEM:

Standard error of mean

HGF:

Hepatocyte growth factor

NGF:

Nerve growth factor

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Ann Paterson for assisting with the English.

Authors' contributions

Participated in research design: Ghayour, Abdolmaleki, Conducted experiments: Ghayour, Abdolmaleki, Behnam, Performed data analysis: Ghayour, Abdolmaleki, Wrote or contributed to the writing of the manuscript: Ghayour, Abdolmaleki, Behnam.

Funding

Research Council of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Namin, Iran

    Arash Abdolmaleki

  2. Bio Science and Biotechnology Research Center (BBRC), Sabalan University of Advanced Technologies (SUAT), Namin, Iran

    Arash Abdolmaleki

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Mohammad-Bagher Ghayour & Morteza Behnam-Rassouli

Authors
  1. Arash Abdolmaleki
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  2. Mohammad-Bagher Ghayour
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  3. Morteza Behnam-Rassouli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad-Bagher Ghayour.

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The authors declare that they have no Conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All animal experiments were carried out in accordance with the European Communities Council directive of 24 November 1986(86/609/EEC) and in accordance with local University of Ferdowsi committee for Human and Animal ethics.

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Abdolmaleki, A., Ghayour, MB. & Behnam-Rassouli, M. Protective effects of acetyl-l-carnitine against serum and glucose deprivation-induced apoptosis in rat adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Cell Tissue Bank 21, 655–666 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10561-020-09844-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10561-020-09844-1

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