Coenzyme Q10 Inhibits the Aging of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induced by D-Galactose through Akt/mTOR Signaling

Figure 6

Effects of Akt/mTOR signaling on MSC aging inhibited by CoQ10. (a) Western blot analysis. The p-Akt expression level was evidently higher in the CA-Akt group compared with that in the control group or the empty vector group. β-actin was used as the internal control. (b) Western blot analysis. The p-Akt, p-mTOR, , p53, and p21 expression levels were higher in the D-gal group compared with those in the control group. After treatment with CoQ10 in MSCs for 48 h, the p-Akt, p-mTOR, , p53, and p21 expression levels were lower compared with those in the D-gal group. However, in the D-gal + CoQ10 + CA-Akt group, the p-Akt, p-mTOR, , p53, and p21 expression levels were increased. β-actin was used as the internal control. (c) SA-β-gal staining. Compared with the control group, the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells in the D-gal group was clearly increased. In the D-gal + CoQ10 group, the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells was obviously decreased compared with that in the D-gal group. However, after constitutive overexpression of Akt, the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells in the D-gal + CoQ10 + CA-Akt group was clearly increased compared with the D-gal + CoQ10 group. Scale bar = 25 μm. (d) Quantification of SA-β-gal-positive cells. The total number of SA-b-gal-positive cells among 100 random cells was counted using phase-contrast microscopy. The results show that the number of SA-β-gal-positive MSCs/100 cells in the D-gal group was significantly higher than that in the control group (^*; ). In the D-gal + CoQ10 group, the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells was obviously decreased compared with that in the D-gal group (^#; ). In the D-gal + CoQ10 + CA-Akt group, the number of SA-β-gal-positive cells was clearly increased compared with the D-gal + CoQ10 group (; ).

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)