Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide Donor NaHS on Porcine Vascular Wall-Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is now considered not only for its toxicity, but also as an endogenously produced gas transmitter with multiple physiological roles, also in maintaining and regulating stem cell physiology. In the present work, we evaluated the effect of a common H2S donor, NaHS, on porcine vascular wall–mesenchymal stem cells (pVW–MSCs). pVW–MSCs were treated for 24 h with increasing doses of NaHS, and the cell viability, cell cycle, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were evaluated. Moreover, the long-term effects of NaHS administration on the noteworthy characteristics of pVW–MSCs were analyzed. The MTT test revealed no alteration in cell viability, however, the cell cycle analysis demonstrated that the highest NaHS dose tested (300 μM) determined a block in S phase, which did not depend on the ROS production. Moreover, NaHS (10 μM), continuously administered in culture for 21 days, was able to significantly reduce NG2, Nestin and PDGFR-β expression. The pro-angiogenic attitude of pVW–MSCs was partially reduced by NaHS: the cells maintained the ability to grow in spheroid and sprouting from that, but endothelial markers (Factor VIII and CD31) were reduced. In conclusion, NaHS can be toxic for pVW–MSCs in high doses, while in low doses, it influences cellular physiology, by affecting the gene expression with a slowing down of the endothelial lineage.

Protective Effect of Sodium Hydrosulfide on Lipopolysaccharide Induced Myocardial Cell Injury Model: Involvement of Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

“…As shown in fig. 2, NaHS does not improve cell viability in a concentration dependent manner, which is similar to the findings of Bernardini et al [18] . It was shown that high concentration of NaHS (300 µM) could not further improve the vitality of porcine vascular mesenchymal stem cells and even stagnated the cell cycle at high concentration of NaHS.…”