Secretions of Electrically Stimulated Stem Cells Promote Neuron Growth

Bhaveshsai Reddy

Overview

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are compelling prospects in neural regeneration because of neurogenesis related growth factors they produce, leading to the possibility of being a paracrine, cell free treatment. Keeping this in mind, this study aimed to optimize multiple culture conditions of the ASCs to produce a secretome full of pro-neurogenetic factors. These pro-neuroregenerative factors, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), are highly implicated in angiogenesis and neurogenesis. The disparity between the secretome of clinically (liposuction) and commercially sourced ASCs were noted, and thus, were tested for with an ELISA. This disparity was exemplified in the results as commercially sourced ASCs produced a negligible amount of BDNF, one of the growth factors implicated in neurogenesis. By using SY5Y neuroblastoma neurons as a model, we tested the ability of the ASC secretome to promote in vitro neurite regrowth. The results of the enrichment of the SY5Y neurons with ASC secretome are encouraging as they matched, and in some cases, outperformed the positive control. Lastly, low level exogenous electrical stimulation was applied to ASCs in hopes to further optimize the production of VEGF and BDNF and thus set a precedent as a proof of concept for electrically aided neuron regeneration. Resulting gene expression analysis determined that low level electrical stimulation increased VEGF production by 1.5 fold. Repeating the neurite extension tests with secretome from the electrically stimulated ASCs yielded no significant difference in outgrowth between electrically stimulated and not electrically stimulated cells.

My Story

Growing up, I've always dreamed of having the world at my fingertips. Whether it be through my passion for sports or music, diving towards my problems head first has always seemed like the right option. As a percussionist, I (quite literally) take a hands on approach every time I play the tabla (an Indian drum). Although it sometimes may manifest itself in the form of yelling at the TV on Sunday evenings, my love for sports has also nurtured this appreciation for active and firsthand perspectives.

As I grew older, advancing through middle school and entering high school, I was faced with a dilemma. With increasing pressure to figure out what I wanted to pursue in college, I felt trapped. To me, it seemed impossible to develop a passion for something out of textbooks and practice worksheets. Research was the solution to this dilemma. Joining the Summer Research Institute at my school I was able to take matters into my own hands. Through my growing love for research, I was able to take the concepts we has just learned about in Biology and see them materialize in front of me. Combining my childhood inclination towards hands-on and creative solutions with my love for science, research has and continues to help me grow into a more developed person overall. Whether it be through the people I meet or the late nights in the lab, I hope to continue to build upon the foundation that 4 years of research has laid for me as an AJAS fellow.