Effects of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in Regenerating the Damaged Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells in an Animal Model of Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury

BACKGROUND: We conducted this experimental study to examine whether human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are effective in achieving a recovery of damaged renal tubular epithelial cells in an animal model of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury using rats. METHODS: To examine the in vitro effects of ADSCs in improving nephrotoxicity, we treated mouse renal tubular epithelial cells with both ADSCs and cisplatin mouse renal tubular epithelial cells. And we equally divided 30 male white Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats into the three groups: the control group (intraperitoneal injection of a sterile saline), the cisplatin group (intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin) and the ADSC group (intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin and the hADSC via the caudal vein). At five days after the treatment with cisplatin, serum levels of blood urine nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine were measured from each SD rat. We performed histopathologic examinations of tissue samples obtained from the kidney. RESULTS: The degree of the expression of TNF-alpha and that of Bcl-2 were significantly higher and lower respectively, in cisplatin group (P<0.05). Serum levels of BUN (P=0.027) and creatinine (P=0.02) were significantly higher in cisplatin group. On histopathologic examinations, there was a significant difference in the ratio of the renal injury between cisplatin group and ADSC group (P=0.002). CONCLUSION: The ADSCs might have a beneficial effect in regenerating the damaged renal tubular epithelial cells.

Gambogic Acid Induced Apoptosis through Activation of Caspase-dependent Pathway in Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells / 체질인류학회지

Gambogic acid (GA) has powerful apoptotic actions. The authors investigated whether GA has apoptotic effects on aortic smooth muscle cells, and compared its potency with that of simvastatin. Smooth muscle cells were isolated from the aortas of Sprague-Dawley rats (4-6 week). Cell purities were confirmed by IF staining using alpha-smooth muscle actin antibody. The IC50 values for cell death by GA and simvastatin were determined using a MTT assay, and the apoptotic effects of 1 microM GA or 30 microM simvastatin (concentrations correspond to IC50 values) were determined after 24 h of treatment using live cell images and by FITC annexin-V and propidium iodide double-staining. In addition, western blotting was used to evaluate apoptosis by quantifying reductions in the expression levels of the PARP and procaspase-3 as well as cleavages of PARP and procaspase-3 after treatment with 1 microM GA or 30 microM simvastatin. The IC50 of GA (1 microM) was lower than that of simvastatin (30 microM). Cell numbers were markedly reduced by both drugs in live cell images. GA (1 microM) produced a higher level of apoptosis than 30 microM simvastatin (26.4+/-2.37% vs. 8.3+/-1.54%, respectively; P<0.05, n=3) by FITC annexin-V & PI double-staining. In addition, 1 microM GA reduced the expressions of PARP, procaspase-3, and Mcl-1 in cells, whereas 30 microM simvastatin did not. Pretreatment with z-VAD-fmk attenuated GA-induced apoptosis and the cleavages of PARP and procaspase-3. The decreased level of Mcl-1 protein induced by GA treatment was recovered by z-VAD-fmk. These results indicate that GA-induced apoptosis was mediated by a caspase-dependent pathway.

An Effective Isolation of the Vascular Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells from the Mouse Aorta / 대한해부학회지

The mechanism of the disease such as artherosclerosis is easily elucidated by the comparison among cells isolated from each aorta of knockout mouse and wild type mouse, respectively. This study was aimed at effectively harvesting the endothelial and smooth muscle cells from 4~6 weeks old wild type C57BL/6J mouse aorta. The tunica adventitia was completely removed to get the aortic tissues only consisting of the tunica intima and the tunica media under the stereoscope. These aortic tissues were treated with type I collagenase or type II collagenase solution, respectively, and then the endothelial or smooth muscle cell was isolated. CD31 marker of the endothelial cell and alphasmooth muscle actin marker of the smooth muscle cell were identified with confocal microscope. The percentages of the labelled cells by each marker represented the extent of purification of endothelial or smooth muscle cells, respectively, for harvested cells according to the collagenase solutions. 70~80% of culture vessel was covered with the endothelial cells 10 days after the treatment of the type I collagenase solution, while 40~50% of culture vessel covering with the cells after the treatment of the type II collagenase solution. 70~80% of culture vessel was covered with the smooth muscle cell regardless of the type of the collagenase solution on the 13th day. Percentages of the CD31 positive cells after the treatment with the type I or the type II collagenase solution was 91.1+/-.865%** and 86.4+/-.641%, respectively (**p <0.05, n=5). Percentages of the alphasmooth muscle actin labelled cells after the treatment with the type I or the type II collagenase solution were 87.9+/-.713% and 86.6+/-.778%, respectively, and these values were not significantly different. Taken together, the aortic tissues using the type I collagenase solution comparing with using the type II collagenase solution were much more effective in the isolation of the endothelial cells