[Effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α on hypoxic tolerance of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells].

Objective: Under hypoxic conditions, the survival and apoptosis of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) were observed by transient transfection of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) gene, to investigate the effect of HIF-1α on hypoxic tolerance of hAMSCs. Methods: The hAMSCs were isolated and cultured from amniotic membrane tissue from voluntary donors who were treated with cesarean section. And the morphological observation by inverted phase contrast microscope and immunofluorescence detection of the expressions of stem cell markers OCT-4 and NANOG were performed to identify the cultured cells. The third generation hAMSCs were treated with 200 µmol/L CoCl 2, and transient transfection of plasmids were added according to the following grouping: group A was hAMSCs blank group; group B was pcDNA3.1 negative control group; group C was short hairpin RNA (shRNA) negative control group; group D was shRNA-HIF-1α interference group; group E was pcDNA3.1-HIF-1α over expression group. Cell survival rate of each group was measured by cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) at 12, 24, 48 hours after hypoxia treatment. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis rate of each group at 24 hours after hypoxia treatment. The expression levels of HIF-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bax, and cleaved Caspase-3 (C-Caspase-3) proteins were detected by Western blot at 24 hours after hypoxia treatment. Results: CCK-8 assay showed that the cell survival rate of group D was significantly lower than those of groups A and C at all time points after hypoxia treatment; while the cell survival rate in group E was significantly increased than those in groups A and B, and the diffrences at 24 hours were significant ( P<0.05). In group E, the cell survival rate at 24 hours was significantly higher than those at 12 and 48 hours ( P<0.05). The results of flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate in group D was significantly higher than those in groups A and C ( P<0.05), and the apoptosis rate in group E was significantly lower than those in groups A and B ( P<0.05). Western blot showed that the expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF, and Bcl-2 proteins in group D were significantly decreased when compared with those in groups A and C, and the expressions of Bax and C-Caspase-3 proteins were significantly increased ( P<0.05). On the contrary, the expressions of HIF-1α, VEGF, and Bcl-2 proteins in group E were significantly higher than those in groups A and B, and the expressions of Bax and C-Caspase-3 proteins were significantly decreased ( P<0.05). Conclusion: Overexpression of HIF-1α gene can significantly improve hAMSCs tolerance to hypoxia, the mechanism may be related to up-regulation of VEGF and Bcl-2 expressions, and down-regulation of Bax and C-Caspase-3 expressions.

Salvianolic acid A ameliorates the integrity of blood-spinal cord barrier via miR-101/Cul3/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Salvianolic acid A (Sal A), a bioactive compound isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Danshen, is used for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, the protective function of Sal A on preserving the role of blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) after spinal cord injury (SCI) is unclear. The present study investigated the effects and mechanisms of Sal A (2.5, 5, 10mg/kg, i.p.) on BSCB permeability at different time-points after compressive SCI in rats. Compared to the SCI group, treatment with Sal A decreased the content of the Evans blue in the spinal cord tissue at 24h post-SCI. The expression levels of tight junction proteins and HO-1 were remarkably increased, and that of p-caveolin-1 protein was greatly decreased after SCI Sal A. The effect of Sal A on the expression level of ZO-1, occluding, and p-caveolin-1 after SCI was blocked by the HO-1 inhibitor, zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP). Also, Sal A inhibited the level of apoptosis-related proteins and improved the motor function until 21days after SCI. In addition, Sal A significantly increased the expression of microRNA-101 (miR-101) in the RBMECs under hypoxia. AntagomiR-101 markedly increased the RBMECs permeability and the expression of the Cul3 protein by targeting with 3'-UTR of its mRNA. The expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and HO-1 was significantly increased after agomiR-101 treatment. Therefore, Sal A could improve the recovery of neurological function after SCI, which could be correlated with the repair of BSCB integrity by the miR-101/Cul3/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.