EFFECTS OF STEROIDS ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND PROLIFERATION OF CANINE AND EQUINE MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS OF ADIPOSE ORIGIN - IN VITRO RESEARCH

Disorders of the locomotive system, especially those occurring due to degenerative changes of the joints, are serious problems in daily veterinary medical practice. Steroid injections are the main way of treating these disorders. However, this approach brings usually only temporary effects of pain relief, and may cause many side effects. Alternative therapies focus on regeneration of damaged tissue using adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Since 2002, the great plasticity and immunomodulatory properties of MSCs isolated from adipose tissue (AdMSCs) have been used successfully in the treatment of degenerative joint diseases (DJD) of both dogs and horses. Possible simultaneous application of steroid therapy and stem cell transplantation could improve the commonly used clinical procedure. In this paper, the influence of the two steroid drugs (betamethasone and methylprednisolone) on AdMSCs was evaluated on the basis of morphology and proliferation rate. Both steroids positively influenced the viability and proliferation state of cells in a concentration of 0.01 mg/ml and 0.1 mg/ml, respectively. However, the concentration of 1 mg/ml had a cytotoxic effect. Moreover, the lower dosage of steroid drugs used in the experiment did not affect the morphology of cells and significantly increased cellular activity. In conclusion, our data demonstrate the stimulating effect of steroid drugs on cell morphology, proliferation rate and cytophysiological activity. These findings may influence the use of stem cells and steroids in applied regenerative veterinary medical practice in the future.