Minoo Shahidi
Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Title: In vitro regenerative function of Silymarin in preparation of hematopoietic progenitor cells
Biography
Biography: Minoo Shahidi
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Since human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) can be simply collected, developing of hematopoietic progenitor cells from these cells may improve hematopoietic cell engraftment for irregular cases with limitations for receiving compatible blood components. Regenerative functions of Silymarin, a mixture of polyphenolic flavonoids derived from milk thistle, have been reported previously. Accordingly, there are some reports of Silymarin effect in regeneration and treatment of skin disorders, but no effect of this polyphenolic flavonoid on hematopoietic cells has been reported so far. The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct effect of Silymarin on conversion of HUVEC to hematopoietic cells. The effect of Silymarin on all the main hematopoietic lineage markers in HUVEC was investigated after 24h by flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. Treatment of endothelial cells with Silymarin after 24h significantly increased the number of the cells expressing hematopoietic progenitor markers. However, no significant expression of the lineage-specific markers was found during 24h. Taken together, our in vitro findings revealed the potential of Silymarin to switch human