NANOG Alleviates the Damage of Human Hair Follicle Mesenchymal Stem Cells Caused by H_2O_2 through Activation of AKT Pathway

ObjectiveTo explore the protective effect of NANOG against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) -induced cell damage in the human hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells (hHF-MSCs).MethodsNANOG was expressed from a lentiviral vector, pLVX-IRES-ZsGreen. NANOG hHF-MSCs and vector hHF-MSCs were treated with 400 μmol/L hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) for 2 h, the cell survival rate, cell morphology, ROS production, apoptosis and expression of AKT, ERK, and p21 were determined and compared.ResultsOur results showed that NANOG could activate AKT and upregulate the expression of p-AKT, but not p-ERK. When treated with 400 μmol/L H₂O₂, NANOG hHF-MSCs showed higher cell survival rate, lower ROS production and apoptosis, higher expression of p-AKT, higher ratio of p-AKT/AKT.ConclusionOur results suggest that NANOG could protect hHF-MSCs against cell damage caused by H₂O₂ through activating AKT signaling pathway.