Some aquaporins (AQPs) have been recently demonstrated to facilitate the diffusion of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from the producing cells to the extracellular fluid, and their reactive oxygen species scavenging properties have been defined. Nevertheless, the identification of different AQPs acting as peroxiporins, their functional role in eustress and distress, and the identification of antioxidant compounds able to regulate AQP gating, remain unsolved. This study aims to investigate, in HeLa cells: (1) the expression of different AQPs; (2) the evaluation of naringenin, quercetin, (R)-aloesaponol III 8-methyl ether, marrubiin, and curcumin antioxidant profiles, via α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl assay; (3) the effect of the compounds on the water permeability in the presence and in the absence of oxidative stress; and (4) the effect of pre- and post-treatment with the compounds on the H2O2 content in heat-stressed cells. Results showed that HeLa cells expressed AQP1, 3, 8, and 11 proteins. The oxidative stress reduced the water transport, and both pre- and post-treatment with the natural compounds recovering the water permeability, with the exception of curcumin. Moreover, the pre- and post-treatment with all the compounds reduced the H2O2 content of heat-stressed cells. This study confirms that oxidative stress reduced water AQP-mediated permeability, reversed by some chemical antioxidant compounds. Moreover, curcumin was shown to regulate AQP gating. This suggests a novel mechanism to regulate cell signaling and survival during stress, and to manipulate key signaling pathways in cancer and degenerative diseases.

Trabecular Titanium (TT) is an innovative highly porous structure that imitates the morphology of trabecular bone with good mechanical properties. Adipose-derived stem cells are a multipotent cell population that can be used in regenerative medicine, in particular, for bone therapeutic applications. The ability of TT to induce the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) in the absence of osteogenic factors was evaluated using molecular biological, biochemical, and immunohistochemical methods. At 7 and 21 days from differentiation, the hASCs grown on TT scaffolds showed similar expressions of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Runx-2 both in the presence and in the absence of osteogenic factors, as well as at transcript and protein levels. hASCs cultured on monolayer in the presence of the medium obtained from the wells where hASCs/scaffold constructs were cultured in the absence of osteogenic factors differentiated towards the osteogenic phenotype: their gene and protein expression of ALP and Runx-2 was similar to that of the same cells cultured in the presence of osteogenic factors, and significantly higher than that of the ones cultured in growth medium.

In this article, we provide an extensive review of the recent literature of the signaling pathways modulated by Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) and PEMFs clinical application. A review of the literature was performed on two medical electronic databases (PubMed and Embase) from 3 to 5 March 2021. Three authors performed the evaluation of the studies and the data extraction. All studies for this review were selected following these inclusion criteria: studies written in English, studies available in full text and studies published in peer-reviewed journal. Molecular biology, identifying cell membrane receptors and pathways involved in bone healing, and studying PEMFs target of action are giving a solid basis for clinical applications of PEMFs. However, further biology studies and clinical trials with clear and standardized parameters (intensity, frequency, dose, duration, type of coil) are required to clarify the precise dose-response relationship and to understand the real applications in clinical practice of PEMFs.