Effect of simvastatin on apoptosis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells induced by hydrogen peroxide

Objective:To investigate the effect of simvastatin on the apoptosis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs) and explore its possible mechanism.Methods:BMSCs were isolated from SD rats by whole bone marrow adherence culture method.The cells were randomly divided into 7 groups of A(normal control),B(treated with H2O2),C1(treated with simvastatin 0.001 mol/L),C2(treated with simvastatin 0.01 mol/L),C3(treated with simvastatin 0.1 mol/L),C4(treated with simvastatin 1 mol/L) and D(treated with LY294002).The apoptosis of BMSCs was detected by flow cytometry and the expressions of p-Akt and Akt were analyzed by Western blot.Results:Compared with group B,different concentrations of simvastatin,especially group C2,inhibited H2O2-induced apoptosis of BMSCs(P0.05),which was significantly blocked by LY294002 in group D(P0.01).p-Akt activities in groups of C1,C2,C3 and C4 were higher than those in groups of A and B(P0.01),whereas the level of p-Akt was inhibited in group D(P0.01).Conclusion:Simvastatin in a definite concentration range can inhibit H2O2-induced apoptosis of BMSCs,which may be related with PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.