Ascorbic acid mitigates the deleterious effects of nicotine on tendon stem cells

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cell Biology
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Nicotine is known to cause tendon degeneration.
• Ascorbic acid has demonstrated beneficial effects on tendon cells.
• Tendon stem cells (TSCs) are crucial for tendon repair and maintenance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of nicotine on TSCs.
• To determine if ascorbic acid can counteract nicotine's adverse impacts on TSCs.
• To explore nicotine's influence on TSC proliferation, migration, stemness, apoptosis, and differentiation.

Main Methods:

• Cell culture experiments were conducted.
• TSCs were treated with varying concentrations of nicotine and ascorbic acid.
• Analyses included cell proliferation, migration, stemness assays, apoptosis detection (flow cytometry), and differentiation markers.

Main Results:

• High nicotine concentrations (1000 ng/mL) impaired TSC proliferation, migration, and stemness marker expression.
• Lower nicotine concentrations (100 ng/mL) showed proliferative effects.
• Ascorbic acid supplementation reversed nicotine's inhibitory effects on TSC proliferation, migration, and stemness, and reduced nicotine-induced apoptosis.

Conclusions:

• Nicotine negatively impacts the biological characteristics of TSCs.
• Ascorbic acid partially mitigates the detrimental effects of nicotine on TSCs.
• Ascorbic acid may be a potential therapeutic agent to counteract nicotine-induced tendon degeneration.