Effects of vitexin-2"-O-rhamnoside and vitexin-4"-O-glucoside on growth and oxidative stress-induced cell apoptosis of human adipose-derived stem cells

Objectives: Vitexin-2"-O-rhamnoside (VOR) and vitexin-4"-O-glucoside (VOG) are the two main flavonoid glycosides of the leaves of Cratagus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N. E. Br. that has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular system diseases. In this study, we simultaneously investigated the influence of VOR and VOG on human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) injury induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) to further characterize their anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic activity.

Methods: hADSCs were isolated, cultured in vitro and pretreated with 62.5 μm VOR or 120 μm VOG for 24 h and then exposed to 500 μm H2 O2 for an additional 4 h.

Key findings: Pretreatment of hADSCs with VOR and VOG was demonstrated to significantly ameliorate the toxicity and Apoptosis effects, such as morphological distortion, nuclear condensation, decreased intracellular Caspase-3 activity and percentage of cells in Apoptosis/necrosis by using morphological assay, immunocytochemistry and flow cytometric evaluation. In addition, VOR and VOG caused no cytotoxic effect on hADSCs at concentrations up to 250 and 480 μm, respectively.

Conclusions: Our results indicated that both VOR and VOG contribute to the protection against H2 O2 -mediated oxidative stress damage and could be safely used for a wide range of concentrations.