Behavioral Changes in Stem-Cell Potency by HepG2-Exhausted Medium
Francesca Balzano,
Giuseppe Garroni,
Sara Cruciani,
Emanuela Bellu,
Silvia Dei Giudici,
Annalisa Oggiano,
Giampiero Capobianco,
Salvatore Dessole,
Carlo Ventura,
Margherita Maioli
Affiliations
Francesca Balzano
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Giuseppe Garroni
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Sara Cruciani
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Emanuela Bellu
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Silvia Dei Giudici
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Annalisa Oggiano
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Giampiero Capobianco
Department of Medical, Surgical and experimental Sciences, Gynecologic and Obstetric Clinic, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Salvatore Dessole
Department of Medical, Surgical and experimental Sciences, Gynecologic and Obstetric Clinic, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Carlo Ventura
National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Bioengineering of the National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems (NIBB)-Eldor Lab, at the Innovation Accelerator, CNR, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
Margherita Maioli
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Wharton jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) are able to differentiate into different cell lineages upon stimulation. This ability is closely related to the perfect balance between the pluripotency-related genes, which control stem-cell proliferation, and genes able to orchestrate the appearance of a specific phenotype. Here we studied the expression of stemness-related genes, epigenetic regulators (DNMT1, SIRT1), miRNAs (miR-145, miR-148, and miR-185) related to stemness, exosomes, the cell-cycle regulators p21 (WAF1/CIP1) and p53, and the senescence-associated genes (p16, p19, and hTERT). Cells were cultured in the presence or absence of the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2-exhausted medium, to evaluate changes in stemness, differentiation capability, and senescence sensibility. Our results showed the overexpression of SIRT1 and reduced levels of p21 mRNA. Moreover, we observed a downregulation of DNMT1, and a simultaneous overexpression of Oct-4 and c-Myc. These findings suggest that WJ-MSCs are more likely to retain a stem phenotype and sometimes to switch to a highly undifferentiable proliferative-like behavior if treated with medium exhausted by human HepG2 cell lines.
