An in vitro study to assess the effect of hyaluronan-based gels on muscle-derived cells: Highlighting a new perspective in regenerative medicine

PLoS One. 2020 Aug 6;15(8):e0236164. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236164. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Hyaluronan (HA) is a nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan that has been widely used for biomedical applications. Here, we have analyzed the effect of HA on the rescue of primary cells under stress as well as its potential to recover muscle atrophy and validated the developed model in vitro using primary muscle cells derived from rats. The potentials of different HAs were elucidated through comparative analyses using pharmaceutical grade a) high (HHA) and b) low molecular weight (LHA) hyaluronans, c) hybrid cooperative complexes (HCC) of HA in three experimental set-ups. The cells were characterized based on the expression of myogenin, a muscle-specific biomarker, and the proliferation was analyzed using Time-Lapse Video Microscopy (TLVM). Cell viability in response to H2O2 challenge was evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and the expression of the superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD-2) was assessed by western blotting. Additionally, in order to establish an in vitro model of atrophy, muscle cells were treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), along with hyaluronans. The expression of Atrogin, MuRF-1, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-kB), and Forkhead-box-(Fox)-O-3 (FoxO3a) was evaluated by western blotting to elucidate the molecular mechanism of atrophy. The results showed that HCC and HHA increased cell proliferation by 1.15 and 2.3 folds in comparison to un-treated cells (control), respectively. Moreover, both pre- and post-treatments of HAs restored the cell viability, and the SOD-2 expression was found to be reduced by 1.5 fold in HA-treated cells as compared to the stressed condition. Specifically in atrophic stressed cells, HCC revealed a noteworthy beneficial effect on the myogenic biomarkers indicating that it could be used as a promising platform for tissue regeneration with specific attention to muscle cell protection against stressful agents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Culture Media / metabolism
  • Gels
  • Humans
  • Hyaluronic Acid / chemistry
  • Hyaluronic Acid / pharmacology*
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / toxicity
  • Intravital Microscopy
  • Molecular Weight
  • Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / drug effects*
  • Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / pathology
  • Muscular Atrophy / pathology
  • Muscular Atrophy / therapy*
  • Myogenin / analysis
  • Myogenin / metabolism
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Primary Cell Culture
  • Rats
  • Regenerative Medicine / methods*
  • Superoxide Dismutase / analysis
  • Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism
  • Time-Lapse Imaging
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • Gels
  • Myog protein, rat
  • Myogenin
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Hyaluronic Acid
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Superoxide Dismutase
  • superoxide dismutase 2

Grants and funding

National grant MIUR PON03PE_00060_3 “Sviluppo e sperimentazione di molecole ad azione nutraceutica e cosmeceutica” MIUR Ministero dell’Universita` e della Ricerca Scientifica. Regional Competence Center in Industrial Biotechnologies (Bioteknet) S.C.P.A funded short term grants for A.S. and L.A.