Platelets reduce oxidative stress damage in human endometrial stromal cells in vitro

Do platelets exert a protective effect against oxidative stress in human endometrial stromal cells (HESC) in vitro?

An in-vitro oxidative stress model was developed in HESC by exposing them to varying concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 μM) of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Rat platelets were collected and co-cultured with oxidatively damaged HESC, and changes in viability, apoptosis rate, reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations, apoptosis-related proteins, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signalling pathway activation, and inflammatory cytokine profiles were measured systematically using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, flow cytometry, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot analyses.

Platelet treatment reduced the apoptosis rate and intracellular ROS accumulation significantly compared with the H₂O₂ group (ROS: P ≤ 0.0003; apoptosis rate: P < 0.0001), and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde and pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion (P ≤ 0.0129). Similarly, platelets enhanced superoxide dismutase activity and restored viability (P ≤ 0.0459). Furthermore, exposure to platelets reversed the H₂O₂-induced increase in Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax)/B-cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2) protein ratio (P = 0.0029), and upregulated the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT in the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway (P ≤ 0.0457).

These results showed that platelets can mitigate oxidative stress and enhance endometrial resilience, suggesting that they have high potential for clinical management of thin endometrium.