The effect of anti-inflammatory agents (glucosamine sulphate and aloe vera) on mouse mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Use of stem cells for treating degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis has been gaining popularity. Glucosamine Sulphate is a nutritional supplement used for relieving inflammation during Osteoarthritis. Aloe vera juice is a widely consumed drink used in traditional practices to help reduce inflammation. In this experiment, the effect of Glucosamine Sulphate and Aloe vera on 2D and 3D proliferation of MSC cells was studied. Initial study to determine a suitable matrix for growing MSC cells was performed by growing the cells on 5mg/ml and 10mg/ml collagen and fibronectin coated wells for seven days. Cells adhered the least on fibronectin 10ug/ml and cells proliferated the highest on fibronectin at 10ug/ml, thus establishing fibronectin 10ug/ml as the matrix for the study. The effect of Glucosamine Sulphate on 2D proliferation of MSC cells growing on 10ug/ml fibronectin matrix was studied by exposing the cells to 0mg/ml, 0.1mg/ml, 0.5mg/ml and 1 mg/ml of Glucosamine Sulphate for seven days. The cells adhered the least on 0.5mg/ml and proliferated the highest on 0.5mg/ml as well (p<0.05). The effect of Aloe vera on MSC cells grown on fibronectin at 10ug/ml was studied by using concentrations of 0%, 2%, 5% and 10% Aloe vera juice for seven days. It was found that cell proliferation radically decreased in all conditions after Day 4 and the least proliferation was observed at 10%. 3D proliferation of MSC cells in a fibrin construct was studied with 0.1 mg/ml of Glucosamine Sulphate and 2% and 5% Aloe vera juice. It was observed that 5% Aloe vera juice allowed highest proliferation of cells, followed by 0.1 mg/ml Glucosamine Sulphate and 2% Aloe vera. This indicated that further analysis with 2% and 5% Aloe vera along with 0.1mg/ml as threshold could help identify an optimum dose range for uptake of Glucosamine Sulphate with Aloe vera juice to enhance relief from inflammation during osteoarthritis