Effects of adipose derived stem cells pretreated with resveratrol on sciatic nerve regeneration in rats

Abstract

Abstract Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) are popular in regenerative medicine due to their easy availability, low immunogenicity and lack of controversy regarding their ethical debate use. Although ADSCs can repair nerve damage, the oxidative microenvironment of damaged tissue can induce apoptosis of transplanted stem cells, which weakens the therapeutic efficacy of ADSCs. Resveratrol (Res) is a type of natural polyphenol compound that regulates the proliferation, senescence and differentiation of stem cells. Therefore, we investigated whether incubation of ADSCs with Res improves their to promote peripheral nerve regeneration. ADSCs were cultured in vitro and treated with H2O2 to establish an apoptosis model. The control, H2O2 and Res groups were set up. The cell survival rate was detected by the CCK-8 method. The TUNEL assay was used to detect the apoptosis of the cells. qRT‒PCR was used to analyze the expression of apoptosis-related mRNA, and the effect of Res on the proliferation of ADSCs was investigated. In vivo, 40 SD rats were randomly divided into the control, model, ADSCs and ADSC + Res groups, with 13 rats in each group. The sciatic nerve injury rat model was established by the clamp method. Gait was observed on Days 7, 14, 21, and 28. Sciatic nerve regeneration was detected on Day 28. Res had no effect on the proliferation of ADSCs, and the TUNEL assay confirmed that Res pretreatment could significantly improve H2O2-induced apoptosis in ADSCs. Compared with the control group, caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 expression levels were significantly increased in the H2O2 group. Compared with the H2O2 group caspase-3 and Bax expression levels were significantly decreased, and Bcl-2 expression levels were significantly increased in ADSCs + Res group. At 4 weeks after surgery, the functional index of the sciatic nerve in the ADSCs + Res group was significantly higher than that in the model group. On Day 28, the average density of the sciatic nerve myelin sheath in the ADSCs + Res group was significantly increased compared with that in the model group, and Nissl staining showed that the number of motor neurons in the spinal cord was significant compared with that in the model group. Compared with the control group, the wet weight ratio of gastrocnemius muscle and muscle fiber area in ADSCs + Res group were significantly increased. Res enhanced the ability of ADSCs to promote sciatic nerve regeneration in rats.