Hydrogen Enhanced the Myogenic Differentiation of Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through P38 MAPK Signaling Pathway
Abstract Purpose: This study aims to clarify the systems underlying regulation and regulatory roles of hydrogen in the myogenic differentiation of adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs). Materials and methods: In this study, ADSCs acted as an in vitro myogenic differentiating mode. First, the Alamar blue Staining and mitochondrial tracer technique were used to verify whether hydrogen could promote cell proliferation. In addition, this study assessed myogenic differentiating markers (e.g., Myogenin, Mhc and Myod protein expressions) based on the Western blotting assay, analysis on cellular morphological characteristics (e.g., Myotube number, length, diameter and maturation index), RT-PCR (Mhc and Myod mRNA expression) and Immunofluorescence analysis (Desmin, Myosin and β-actin protein expression). Lastly, to verify the myogenic differentiating system of hydrogen, Western blotting assay was performed to detect p38 and p-p38 proteins expressions. Results: Hydrogen can remarkably enhance the proliferation of ADSCs in vitro by increasing the number of single-cell mitochondria and by up-regulating the expression of myogenic biomarkers (e.g., Myod, Mhc and myotube formation). The expressions of both p38 and p-p38 were up-regulated by hydrogen. The differentiating ability was suppressed when the cells were cultivated in combination with SB203580 (p38 MAPK signal pathway inhibitor). Conclusions: The present study initially indicated that hydrogen can promote myogenic differentiation via the p38 MAPK pathway. Thus, the mentioned results present insights into myogenic differentiation and are likely to generate one potential alternative strategy for skeletal muscle related diseases.