Cardiogenic effects of characterized Geum urbanum extracts on adipose-derived human mesenchymal stem cells

Stem cell therapy is considered as a promising treatment for cardiovascular diseases. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) have the ability to undergo cardiomyogenesis. Medicinal plants are effective and safe candidates for cell differentiation. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate cardiogenic effects of characterized (HPLC-UV) G. urbanum extracts on ADMSCs of adipose tissue. The methanolic extracts of the root and aerial parts of G. urbanum were obtained and MTT assay was used for studying their cytotoxic effects. Then, cells were treated with 50 and 100 µg/ml of the root and aerial parts extracts of G. urbanum. MTT assay showed that the extracts of G. urbanum did not have any toxic effects on ADMSCs. Immunostaining results showed increase in the expression of α-actinin and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and quantitative real time reverse transcription-PCR data confirmed the upregulation of ACTN, ACTC1 and TNNI3 genes in ADMSCs after treatment. According to HPLC fingerprinting, some c...