Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cell secretome protects against kidney injury through induction of heme oxygenase 1 upregulation in vitro

Figure 2 Effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells treatment compared to cell culture media on cellular function and oxidative stress. A: MTT assay showing cellular metabolic activity at 24 hours and 48 hours. Absorbance values indicate no significant difference between adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADMSCs) and cell culture media (CCM) groups; B: Apoptosis analysis by flow cytometry indicating similar percentages of viable and apoptotic cells between groups; C: Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels measured by luminescence. ADMSC treatment significantly reduced ROS levels compared to CCM (^aP < 0.05); D: Mitochondrial membrane potential assessed by tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE) staining. ADMSC-treated cells showed significantly higher TMRE fluorescence, indicating improved mitochondrial function (^cP < 0.001); E: Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (Nqo1) mRNA levels were measured using quantitative PCR. Relative expression of HO-1, Nrf2, and Nqo1 was calculated and normalized to the b-actin housekeeping gene control. Each value represents the mean ± SD (n = 4) (^dP < 0.0001). BM-MSCs: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.