Antioxidants inhibit cell senescence and preserve stemness of adipose tissue-derived stem cells by reducing ROS generation during long-term in vitro expansion

Background Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) are promising candidates for regenerative medicine. However, long-term in vitro passaging leads to stemness loss and cell senescence of ADSCs, resulting in failure of ADSC-based therapy. Methods In this study, ADSCs were treated with low dose of antioxidants (reduced glutathione and melatonin) with anti-aging and stem cell protection properties in the in vitro passaging, and the cell functions including stem cell senescence, cell migration, cell multidirectional differentiation potential, and ROS content were carefully analyzed. Results We found that GSH and melatonin could maintain ADSC cell functions through reducing cell senescence and promoting cell migration, as well as by preserving stemness and multidirectional differentiation potential, through inhibiting ROS generation during long-term expansion of ADSCs. Conclusions Our results suggested that antioxidant treatment could efficiently prevent the dysfunction and preserve cell functions of ADSCs after long-term passaging, providing a practical strategy to facilitate ADSC-based therapy.