Proanthocyanidins Attenuation of H₂O₂-Induced Oxidative Damage in Tendon-Derived Stem Cells via Upregulating Nrf-2...

Proanthocyanidins (PCs) have shown inhibition of oxidative damage by improving Nrf-2 expression in many tissues. However, the cytoprotective effects of PCs on H₂O₂-induced tendon damage have not been verified. The current study was aimed at assessing the cytoprotection of PCs on the oxidative cellular toxicity of tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) induced by H₂O₂. The TDSCs were isolated from patellar tendons of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, and the cells after third passage were used for subsequent experiments. The isolated cells were identified by flow cytometry assay and multidifferentiation potential assay. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was performed to examine cell viability. Real-Time PCR and Western Blot were employed to, respectively, assess the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf-2, GCLM, NQO-1, and HO-1. PCs significantly improved the cell viability of TDSCs. Furthermore, H₂O₂ upregulated Nrf-2, GCLM, NQO-1, and HO-1 without significant difference, while the proteins expressions were increased with significant difference in PCs group and PCs + H₂O₂ cotreated group. All the findings indicated that PCs could protect against the oxidative damage induced by H₂O₂ in TDSCs, and the cytoprotective effects might be due to the ability of PCs to activate the expressions of GCLM, HO-1, and NQO-1 via upregulating Nrf-2 signaling pathway.