Transforming growth factor beta 1 promotes the migration of mesenchymal stem cells via upregulation of Snail expression / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Transformation growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) can promote bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) migration and proliferation, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.OBJECTIVE: To observe the invasiveness of TGF-β1 on BMSCs cultured in vitro, and to investigate regulatory effect on Snail and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) expression.METHODS: Rat BMSCs were isolated and cultured with density gradient centrifugalization and adherence method. The influence of different concentrations of TGF-β1 on the BMSC migration was detected using the modified Transwell chambers. Small interfering RNA for Snail gene was synthesized and transfected into BMSCs by liposomel before TGF-β1 was treated, and the expression of Snail and MMP-2 before and after transfection were measured by western blot assay.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The exogenous TGF-β1 can induce a dose-dependent increase in cell migration, which peaked at 2 μg/L. The expression levels of Snail mRNA and MMP-2 mRNA were significantly increased after 2 μg/L TGF-β1 treatment. Snail gene can effectively inhibit the expression of MMP-2 promoted by TGF-β1. Experimental findings indicate that TGF-β1 could increase the MMP-2 expression and then promote the BMSCs migration through the upregulation of the Snail expression.