Human mesenchymal stem cells are resistant to UV-B irradiation

Albeit being an effective therapy for various cutaneous conditions, UV-B irradiation can cause severe skin damage. While multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may aid the regeneration of UV-B-induced skin injuries, the influence of UV-B irradiation on MSCs remains widely unknown. Here, we show that human MSCs are relatively resistant to UV-B irradiation compared to dermal fibroblasts. MSCs exhibited higher clonogenic survival, proliferative activity and viability than dermal fibroblasts after exposure to UV-B irradiation. Cellular adhesion, morphology and expression of characteristic surface marker patterns remained largely unaffected in UV-irradiated MSCs. The differentiation ability along the adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages was preserved after UV-B treatment. However, UV-B radiation resulted in a reduced ability of MSCs and dermal fibroblasts to migrate. MSCs exhibited low apoptosis rates after UV-B irradiation and repaired UV-B-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers more efficiently than dermal fibroblasts. UV-B irradiation led to prolonged p53 protein stability and increased p21 protein expression resulting in a prolonged G2 arrest and senescence induction in MSCs. The observed resistance may contribute to the ability of these multipotent cells to aid the regeneration of UV-B-induced skin injuries.