Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used as donor cells for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to increase the efficiency of embryo cloning. Since replicative senescence reduces the efficiency of embryo cloning in MSCs during in vitro expansion, transfection of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) into MSCs has been used to suppress the replicative senescence. Here, TERT-transfected MSCs in comparison with early passage MSCs (eMSCs) and sham-transfected MSCs (sMSCs) were used to evaluate the effects of embryo cloning with SCNT in a porcine model. Cloned embryos from tMSC, eMSC, and sMSC groups were indistinguishable in their fusion rate, cleavage rate, total cell number, and gene expression levels of OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG during the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst formation rates of tMSC and sMSC groups were comparable but significantly lower than that of the eMSC group (p < 0.05). In contrast, tMSC and eMSC groups demonstrated significantly reduced apoptotic incidence (p < 0.05), and decreased BAX but increased BCL2 expression in the blastocyst stage compared to the sMSC group (p < 0.05). Therefore, MSCs transfected with telomerase reverse transcriptase do not affect the overall development of the cloned embryos in porcine SCNT, but enables to maintain embryo quality, similar to apoptotic events in SCNT embryos typically achieved by an early passage MSC. This finding offers a bioengineering strategy in improving the porcine cloned embryo quality.

Tooth loss in elderly is mainly caused by alveolar bone loss via severe periodontitis. Although the severity of periodontitis is known to be affected by age, the aging process or the genetic changes during the aging of periodontal tissue cells are not well characterized. In this study, we investigated the effect of in vitro aging on the change of gene expression pattern in periodontal fibroblasts. Gingival fibroblasts (GF) and periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDL) were obtained from two young patients and replicative senescence was induced by sequential subcultivation. When more than 90% cells were positively stained with senescence-associated β-galactosidase, those cells were regarded as aged cells. In aged GF and PDL, the level of phosphorylated retinoblastoma (RB) and p16INK4A protein was significantly decreased and increased, respectively. However, the protein level of p53 and p21, well known senescence-inducing genes, did not increase in aged GF and PDL. Although P27Kip1 and p15INK4B, another cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, were reported to be involved in replicative senescence of human cells, they were decreased in aged GF and PDL. Because senescent cells showed flattened and enlarged cell shape and are known to have increased focal adhesion, we examined the protein level of several integrins. Aged GF and PDL showed increased protein level of integrin α2, αu, and β1. When the gene expression profiles of actively proliferating young cells and aged cells were compared by cDNA microarray of 3,063 genes and were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, 7 genes and 15 genes were significantly and commonly increased and decreased, respectively, in aged GF and PDL. Among them, included are the genes that were known to be involved in the regulation of cell cycle, gene transcription, or integrin signaling. The change of gene expression pattern in GF and PDL was minimally similar to that of oral keratinocyte. These results suggest that p16INK4A/RB might be involved in replicative senescence of periodontal fibroblasts and the change of gene expression profile during aging process is cell type specific.

세포 노쇠화(cell senescence)는 나이 듦에 따른 내인성 노화 및 질병들에서 나타날 수 있는 세포의 노화인자 발현, 세포분열 정지 등의 현상으로 일컬어진다. 피부세포의 경우, 노화 및 외부요인으로 인한 세포 노쇠화가 일어나 세포분열의 정지 및 기능 이상이 관찰되며 이는 피부노화를 가속화시키는 요인이 된다. 본 연구에서는, cordycepin을 이용하여 노화된 피부세포의 세포 노쇠화 억제 및 기능 향상을 유도하여 피부노화 개선의 가능성을 제시하였다. 사람에서 유래한 섬유아세포를 이용하여 세포의 β-galactosidase 활성 세포염색 결과, 많은 계대의 세포에서 발현이 높게 나타남을 알 수 있었다. 항산화 및 항염 효과가 알려진 cordycepin을 많은 계대의 세포에 처리하였을 때 β-galactosidase 활성이 확연히 떨어짐을 확인하였고 무혈청 배지 조건에서 많은 계대 세포의 증식 및 생존율을 높이는 결과를 보였으며 세포 노쇠화와 많은 연관성이 대두되고 있는 미토콘드리아의 기능관련 실험을 진행한 결과, 높은 ROS억제능이 나타났다. 본 연구를 통하여 노화된 사람 피부 섬유아세포에서의 cordycepin의 세포 노화 개선능을 알 수 있었으며, 피부 항노화소재로서의 가능성을 확인하였다.