Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are broadly applied in regenerative therapy to replace cells that are lost or impaired during disease. The low survival rate of MSCs after transplantation is one of the major limitations heavily influencing the success of the therapy. Unfavorable microenvironments with inflammation and oxidative stress in the damaged regions contribute to MSCs loss. Most of the strategies developed to overcome this obstacle are aimed to prevent stress-induced apoptosis, with little attention paid to senescence-another common stress reaction of MSCs. Here, we proposed the strategy to prevent oxidative stress-induced senescence of human endometrial stem cells (hMESCs) based on deferoxamine (DFO) application. DFO prevented DNA damage and stress-induced senescence of hMESCs, as evidenced by reduced levels of reactive oxygen species, lipofuscin, cyclin D1, decreased SA-β-Gal activity, and improved mitochondrial function. Additionally, DFO caused accumulation of HIF-1α, which may contribute to the survival of H2O2-treated cells. Importantly, cells that escaped senescence due to DFO preconditioning preserved all the properties of the initial hMESCs. Therefore, once protecting cells from oxidative damage, DFO did not alter further hMESCs functioning. The data obtained may become the important prerequisite for development of a new strategy in regenerative therapy based on MSCs preconditioning using DFO.
Keywords: HIF-1 α; SIPS; antioxidants; deferoxamine; human endometrial stem cells; oxidative stress.