Inhibition of hypoxia and serum deprivation-induced apoptosis by salvianolic acid in rat mesenchymal stem cells

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the influence and mechanism of salvianolic acid B(SalB) on apoptosis inhibition in rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) induced by hypoxia and serum deprivation(hypoxia/SD).METHODS:SalB concentration of 0.1,1,10 or 100 mg/L(drug groups) were investigated for their ability to inhibit apoptosis in rat BMSCs.BMSCs in both the apoptosis model and drug groups were cultured under hypoxic conditions for 6 h,after which cell apoptosis and change in mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP) were detected using flow cytometry.Activation of caspase-3 was detected using western blot analysis.RESULTS:Hypoxia/SD induced apoptosis in rat BMSCs.The early apoptosis rate was lower in the drug groups compared to the apoptosis model group(P<0.05).SalB was found to inhibit the reduction in MMP and decrease the activation of caspase-3.CONCLUSION:0.1,1 and 10 mg/L of SalB inhibits activation of caspase-3 and early apoptosis of rat BMSCs induced by hypoxia/SD and could therefore enhance the survival rate of grafted stem cells.