Fullerene mediates proliferation and cardiomyogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells via modulation of MAPK pathway and cardiac protein expression

• Published in: International journal of nanomedicine 2016-01, Vol.11 (Issue 1), p.269-283
• Main Authors: Hao, Tong, Zhou, Jin, Lü, Shuanghong, Yang, Boguang, Wang, Yan, Fang, Wancai, Jiang, Xiaoxia, Lin, Qiuxia, Li, Junjie, Wang, Changyong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actinin - genetics; Actinin - metabolism; Adipose Tissue, Brown - cytology; Adipose Tissue, Brown - drug effects; Adipose Tissue, Brown - metabolism; Animals; Apoptosis; BADSCs; Biomarkers - analysis; Blotting, Western; C60; Carbon; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Cytotoxicity; Fullerenes; Fullerenes - administration & dosage; Fullerenes - pharmacology; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Graphene; Heart - drug effects; Heart - physiology; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Improve growth; Kinases; Laboratory animals; MAP Kinase Signaling System - drug effects; Myocardial Infarction - drug therapy; Myocardial Infarction - metabolism; Myocardial Infarction - pathology; Myocardium; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Original Research; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sarcomeres - genetics; Sarcomeres - metabolism; Science; Signal transduction; Stem cells; Stem Cells - cytology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Troponin T - genetics; Troponin T - metabolism
• ISSN: 1178-2013; 1176-9114; 1178-2013
• DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S95863

Zero-dimensional fullerenes can modulate the biological behavior of a variety of cell lines. However, the effects and molecular mechanisms of proliferation and cardiomyogenic differentiation in brown adipose-derived stem cells (BADSCs) are still unclear. In this study, we report the initial biological effects of fullerene-C60 on BADSCs at different concentrations. Results suggest that fullerene-C60 has no cytotoxic effects on BADSCs even at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Fullerene-C60 improves the MAPK expression level and stem cell survival, proliferation, and cardiomyogenesis. Further, we found that the fullerene-C60 modulates cardiomyogenic differentiation. Fullerene-C60 improves the expression of cardiomyocyte-specific proteins (cTnT and α-sarcomeric actinin). At elevated concentration, fullerene-C60 reduces the incidence of diminished spontaneous cardiac differentiation of BADSCs with time. At the genetic level, fullerene-C60 (5 μg/mL) also improves the expression of cTnT. In addition, fullerene-C60 promotes the formation of gap junction among cells. These findings have important implications for clinical application of fullerenes in the treatment of myocardial infarction.