Quercetin enhances the cold storage effect on human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in Celsior solution

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being increasingly applied in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, with proven therapeutic value in different in vivo models. However, the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) requires an effective short-term preservation method to provide time for cells to be transported from their production facilities to clinical destinations. This study revealed that after 5 days of hypothermic storage at 4 °C followed by 1-h rewarming, MSCs preserved in quercetin-supplemented Celsior solution (a common organ hypothermic preservation solution) exhibited significantly higher viability compared to those in Celsior solution alone. this addition reduced the proliferation ability and did not alter the immune phenotype or multipotent differentiation ability of the MSCs. The underlying mechanisms involved antioxidant stress modulation (elevated SOD activity and reduced ROS and MDA levels) and metabolic support (increased ATP production). The above findings prove that adding quercetin to the Celsior solution serves as a feasible method for the short-term preservation of mesenchymal stem cells.