The contribution of environmental pollutants to the obesity pandemic is still not yet fully recognized. Elucidating possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of their effects is of high importance. Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic, 21-day-long, 2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichlorethylenedichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) exposure of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells committed to adipogenesis on mitochondrial oxygen consumption on days 4, 10, and 21. In addition, the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), the quality of the mitochondrial network, and lipid accumulation in maturing cells were evaluated. Compared to control differentiating adipocytes, exposure to p,p'-DDE at 1 μM concentration significantly increased basal (routine) mitochondrial respiration, ATP-linked oxygen consumption and MMP of intact cells on day 21 of adipogenesis. In contrast, higher pollutant concentration seemed to slow down the gradual increase in ATP-linked oxygen consumption typical for normal adipogenesis. Organochlorine p,p'-DDE did not alter citrate synthase activity. In conclusion, in vitro 1 μM p,p'-DDE corresponding to human exposure is able to increase the mitochondrial respiration per individual mitochondrion at the end of adipocyte maturation. Our data reveal that long-lasting exposure to p,p'-DDE could interfere with the metabolic programming of mature adipocytes.

• Keywords
• adipogenesis, human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, mitochondrial respiration, p,p′-DDE,
• MeSH
• Adipogenesis drug effects   MeSH
• Cell Differentiation drug effects   MeSH
• Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene toxicity   MeSH
• Cells, Cultured MeSH
• Environmental Pollutants toxicity   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial MeSH
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells cytology   drug effects   MeSH
• Mitochondria drug effects   MeSH
• Obesity metabolism   MeSH
• Adipocytes cytology   drug effects   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene MeSH
• Environmental Pollutants MeSH

Acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and other liver diseases pose a serious threat to human health; however, liver transplantation is the only reliable treatment for the terminal stage of liver diseases. Previous researchers have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are characterized by differentiation and paracrine effects, as well as anti-oxidative stress and immune regulation functions. When MSCs are transplanted into animals, they migrate to the injured liver tissue along with the circulation, to protect the liver and alleviate the injury through the paracrine, immune regulation and other characteristics, making mesenchymal stem cell transplantation a promising alternative therapy for liver diseases. Although the efficacy of MSCs transplantation has been confirmed in various animal models of liver injury, many researchers have also proposed various pretreatment methods to improve the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation, but there is still lack a set of scientific methods system aimed at improving the efficacy of transplantation therapy in scientific research and clinical practice. In this review, we summarize the possible mechanisms of MSCs therapy and compare the existing methods of MSCs modification corresponding to the treatment mechanism, hoping to provide as a reference to help future researchers explore a safe and simple transplantation strategy.

• MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Liver Diseases physiopathology   therapy   MeSH
• Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation methods   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH

The cytoskeleton plays a key role in cellular proliferation, cell-shape maintenance and internal cellular organization. Cells are highly sensitive to changes in microgravity, which can induce alterations in the distribution of the cytoskeletal and cell proliferation. This study aimed to assess the effects of simulated microgravity (SMG) on the proliferation and expression of major cell cycle-related regulators and cytoskeletal proteins in human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs). A WST-1 assay showed that the proliferation of SMG-exposed hucMSCs was lower than a control group. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the percentage of SMG-exposed hucMSCs in the G0/G1 phase was higher than the control group. A western blot analysis revealed there was a downregulation of cyclin A1 and A2 expression in SMG-exposed hucMSCs as well. The expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (cdk4) and 6 (cdk6) were also observed to be reduced in the SMG-exposed hucMSCs. The total nuclear intensity of SMG-exposed hucMSCs was also lower than the control group. However, there were no differences in the nuclear area or nuclear-shape value of hucMSCs from the SMG and control groups. A western blot and quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that SMG-exposed hucMSCs experienced a downregulation of bata-actin and alpha-tubulin compared to the control group. SMG generated the reorganization of microtubules and microfilaments in hucMSCs. Our study supports the idea that the downregulation of major cell cycle-related proteins and cytoskeletal proteins results in the remodeling of the cytoskeleton and the proliferation of hucMSCs.

• MeSH
• Cell Differentiation physiology   MeSH
• Cell Cycle physiology   MeSH
• Cytoskeleton metabolism   MeSH
• Cells, Cultured MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells cytology   metabolism   MeSH
• Actin Cytoskeleton metabolism   MeSH
• Microtubules metabolism   MeSH
• Cell Proliferation physiology   MeSH
• Umbilical Cord cytology   metabolism   MeSH
• Weightlessness Simulation * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH