Conclusion
Hypoxia and HIF-1α play important roles in proliferation, migration, and NPC-like differentiation of ADSCs. This study provides preliminary evidence that HIF-1α-regulated ER stress thus affects ADSCs proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Therefore, HIF-1α and ER may serve as key points to improve the efficacy of ADSCs in treating disc degeneration.
Objective
Hypoxia can promote stem cell proliferation and migration through HIF-1α. Hypoxia can regulate cellular endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Some studies have reported the relationship among hypoxia, HIF-α, and ER stress, however, while little is known about HIF-α and ER stress in ADSCs under hypoxic conditions. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role and relationship of hypoxic conditions, HIF-1α and ER stress in regulating adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) proliferation, migration, and NPC-like differentiation. Method: ADSCs were pretreated with hypoxia, HIF-1α gene transfection, and HIF-1α gene silence. The ADSCs proliferation, migration, and NPC-like differentiation were assessed. The expression of HIF-1α in ADSCs was regulated; then, the changes of ER stress level in ADSCs were observed to investigate the relationship between ER stress and HIF-1α in ADSCs under hypoxic conditions. Result: The cell proliferation and migration assay