Electric Stimulation at 448 kHz Promotes Proliferation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Background/Aims: Capacitive-resistive electric transfer (CRET) is a non invasive electrothermal therapy that applies electric currents within the 400 kHz - 450 kHz frequency range to the treatment of musculoskeletal lesions. Evidence exists that electric currents and electric or magnetic fields can influence proliferative and/or differentiating processes involved in tissue regeneration. This work investigates proliferative responses potentially underlying CRET effects on tissue repair. Methods: XTT assay, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and Western Blot analyses were conducted to asses viability, proliferation and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) from healthy donors, after short, repeated (5 m On/4 h Off) in vitro stimulation with a 448-kHz electric signal currently used in CRET therapy, applied at a subthermal dose of 50 μA/mm²Results: The treatment induced PCNA and ERK1/2 upregulation, together with significant increases in the fractions of ADSC undergoing cycle phases S, G₂ and M, and enhanced cell proliferation rate. This proliferative effect did not compromise the multipotential ability of ADSC for subsequent adipogenic, chondrogenic or osteogenic differentiation. Conclusions: These data identify cellular and molecular phenomena potentially underlying the response to CRET and indicate that CRET-induced lesion repair could be mediated by stimulation of the proliferation of stem cells present in the injured tissues.

Liquid Metal‐Based Multifunctional Micropipette for 4D Single Cell Manipulation

“…Note that, the proliferation rate is higher when the applied voltage is higher. Their findings agree with what prior works have suggested that electrical stimulation may induce cell proliferation or even differentiation 27, 28, 29. The proposed multifunctional pipette could have a potential use as a highly localized single cell electrical stimulator for biological studies and other applications, in addition to examples demonstrated in the current work.…”

Modulation of cell function by electric field: a high-resolution analysis

“…Electric fields (EFs) can regulate a variety of cell functions, including growth, adhesion, reorganization of cytoskeleton, contractility, differentiation, proliferation, activation of intracellular pathways, secretion of proteins and gene expression [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. The regulatory effect of EFs has been demonstrated on different cell types such as neurons, osteoblasts, myoblasts, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, muscle cell and epithelial cells [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Characterization of Chondrogenic Gene Expression and Cartilage Phenotype Differentiation in Human Breast Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Promoted by Ginsenoside Rg1 In Vitro

“…However, bone marrow procurement causes considerable discomfort to the patient and yields a relatively small number of harvested cells. More recent animal and clinical studies have shown that adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are capable of repairing damaged soft tissue, bone or cartilage defects [7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”