Secretome of Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells Reduces Inflammation and Proliferation of Glioblastoma Cells by Deactivating Mapk-Akt Pathway

Background Dental pulp-derived stem cells (DPSC) is a promising therapy as they modulate the immune response, so we evaluated the inhibitory effect of DPSC secretome (DPSC^℗) on the proliferation and inflammation in human glioblastoma (GBM) cells (U-87 MG) and elucidated the concomitant mechanisms involved.

Methods The U87-MG cells were cultured with DPSC^℗ for 24 h and assessed the expression of inflammatory molecules using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial functionality using a seahorse flux analyzer. MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and cell cycle analysis were performed to evaluate the proliferation and cell cycle. Finally, the protein levels were determined by western blot.

Results DPSC^℗ reduced the inflammation and proliferation of U-87 MG cells by down-regulating the pro-inflammatory markers and up-regulating anti-inflammatory markers expressions through ROS-mediated signaling. Moreover, DPSC^℗ significantly reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in the cells. The cellular bioenergetics revealed that all the parameters of oxygen consumption rate (OCAR) and the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) were significantly decreased in the GBM cells after the addition of DPSC^℗. Additionally, DPSC^℗ decreased the GBM cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle at the G1 phase through activation (phosphorylation) of checkpoint molecule CHK1. Furthermore, mechanistically, we found that the DPSC^℗ impedes the phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38 MAPK) and protein kinase B (AKT) pathway.

Conclusion Our findings lend the first evidence of the inhibitory effects of DPSC^℗ on proliferation and inflammation in GBM cells by altering the P38 MAPK-AKT pathway.