Therapeutic Potential of Selenium Treated Stem Cells for the Reduction of Liver Fibrosis

Abstract

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) therapy is an alternative way to treat liver fibrosis. The aim of the current study is to enhance the therapeutic potential of MSCs by pretreated with selenium for the reduction of CCl4 induced liver injury. Male Balb/C mice were treated with CCl4 (1.0 μL/g) intraperitoneally, twice a week for 4 weeks. Mouse MSCs were cultured and then pretreated with 15 ng/ml selenium for 24 hrs. The untreated and selenium pretreated MSCs were transplanted into CCl4 injured mice. After two weeks of MSCs transplantation, mice were observed for liver regeneration. The morphological result showed that selenium treated MSCs have significant therapeutic effect in reduction of CCl4 induced injured as compared to untreated MSCs. Biochemical and histopathological result also revealed significant reduction in serum ALT and bilirubin level, collagen content in selenium treated MSCs group as compared to untreated MSCs. Reverse transcriptase PCR result at mRNA level also confirm the antifibrotic effect of selenium treated MSCs on liver fibrosis as evidenced by decreasing the expression level of apoptotic marker and enhancing hepatocyte marker. Thus it is concluded that selenium treated MSCs have a strong therapeutic effect on the reduction of liver fibrosis in CCl4 mice model.