[Hypobaric Hypoxia Induces Autophagy of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the autophagy activity changes of umbilical cord mesenchymal cells (MSC) under hypobaric hypoxia and the effect of hypobaric hypoxia on cell viability.

METHODS: Umbilical cord mesenchymal cells were cultured in the chamber of hypobaric hypoxia with an air pressure of 41.1 kPa and an oxygen density of 1%. At 0, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 hours, the cells were harvested for Western blot and real-time PCR to observe the expression level of the autophagy marker protein LC3B. And the cell viability under hypobaric hypoxia was evaluated after treatment with autophagy inhibitors HCQ (8 μg/ml) and 3MA (5 mmol/L).

RESULTS: LC3B expression in MSC at protein and mRNA levels were up-regulated significantly after being cultured under hypobaric hypoxia condition for 8 hours. And compared with the control group, inhibition of autophagy reduced cell viability while increased Caspase-3 expression and the incidence of apoptosis.

CONCLUSION: Hypobaric hypoxia activates autophagy in MSC, and the activation of autophagy might play a protective role for cell survival.