Journal Article

Enhanced proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by astaxanthin-encapsulated polymeric micelles

Zhang, Jun, Peng, Ching-An

2019

Overview

Astaxanthin is a highly potent antioxidant which can be extracted from Haematococcus pluvialis when cultivated and induced at high stress conditions. Due to astaxanthin's hydrophobicity, methoxypolyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone (mPEG-PCL) copolymer was synthesized to form polymeric micelles for the encapsulation of astaxanthin. Astaxanthin-loaded polymeric micelles were then used to examine the effects on the proliferation and differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirmed astaxanthin was encapsulated into mPEG-PCL micelles. Astaxanthin loading and encapsulation efficiency, determined by UV/Vis spectroscopy, were 3.27% and 96.67%, respectively. After 48 h, a total of 87.31% of astaxanthin was released from the polymeric micelles. The drug release profile was better fit by the Michaelis-Menten type model than the power law model. The MSC culture results showed that culture medium supplemented with 0.5 μg/mL astaxanthin-encapsulated polymeric micelles led to a 26.3% increase in MSC proliferation over an 8-day culture period. MSC differentiation results showed that 20 ng/mL astaxanthin-encapsulated polymeric micelles enhanced adipogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis of MSCs by 52%, 106%, and 182%, respectively.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Acids / Adipocytes - cytology / Adipocytes - drug effects / Adipogenesis / Antioxidants / Antioxidants (Nutrients) / Antioxidants - administration & dosage / Antioxidants - isolation & purification / Astaxanthin / Biocompatibility / Bioengineering / Biology and Life Sciences / Biomedical materials / Bone marrow / Cell culture / Cell Differentiation - drug effects / Cell proliferation / Cell Proliferation - drug effects / Cells, Cultured / Chlorophyta - growth & development / Chlorophyta - metabolism / Chondrocytes - cytology / Chondrocytes - drug effects / Chondrogenesis / Copolymers / Cyclin-dependent kinases / Differentiation / Drug Carriers - chemistry / Drug delivery systems / Drug Liberation / Encapsulation / Fourier transforms / Glycols (Class of compounds) / Haematococcus pluvialis / Humans / Hydrophobicity / Infrared spectroscopy / Light / Light scattering / Medical research / Mesenchymal stem cells / Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology / Mesenchymal Stem Cells - drug effects / Mesenchyme / Micelles / MPEG encoders / Nanocapsules - chemistry / Osteoblasts - cytology / Osteoblasts - drug effects / Osteogenesis / Photon correlation spectroscopy / Physical Sciences / Polycaprolactone / Polyesters / Polyethylene Glycols / Research and Analysis Methods / Solubility / Spectroscopy / Spectrum analysis / Stem cells / Ultraviolet spectroscopy / Video compression / Xanthophylls - administration & dosage / Xanthophylls - isolation & purification