Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Due to the unique criteria, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the ideal cells for cell therapy and gene therapy. However, the low survival of MSCs after transplantation has limited their application. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of cytoprotective genes including NQO1, TXNRD1, HO-1, GCLC following the overexpression of Nrf2 in MSCs.

 Materials and Methods

 

In this experimental study, umbilical cord-derived MSCs were cultured and recombinant vectors containing Nrf2 and empty vectors were transfected into MSCs using FuGENE HD. After exposure of the cells to stress, RNA extraction and cDNA generation were performed. Using Primer3 software, specific primers were designed for Nrf2, NQO1 ، TXNRD1 ، HO-1 and GCLC genes and the expression of these mentioned genes was evaluated by RT-PCR. The results were quantified and analyzed statistically utilizing Image J software and ANOVA.

 Results

 The expression of Nrf2 was up-regulated in MSCs after transfection (p< 0.01). Overexpression of TXNRD1 and GCLC was observed in transfected cells (p <0.05 and p <0.01) however, the expression of NQO1 and HO-1 did not change in the transfected group in comparison to the control (p > 0.05).

 Conclusions

 Overexpression of Nrf2 resulted in the overexpression of TXNRD1 and GCLC in MSCs and might be explained by the fact that a part of the known Nrf2 cytoprotective mechanisms is controlled by the expression of these genes.