Reduction in the Viability of Human Cervical Cancer HeLa Cell Line via Indirect Co-culture With Amniotic Fluid-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the impacts of unmodified human amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hAF-MSCs) on the viability of HeLa cells, as well as the impact of these cells on the expression of common pro-apoptotic and pro-survival genes in tumor cells by establishing an indirect co-culture system.

To this end, an indirect co-culture system was established, and hAF-MSCs were co-cultured with HeLa cells at a ratio of 1:2 for five days. The cell viability of co-cultured tumor cells was determined after the incubation period. Then, several parameters were examined, including the gene expression of tumor protein 53 (TP53), BCL2-associated X protein (BAX), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A). Finally, gene regulatory networks were analyzed as well.

The results of this study confirmed that the co-culture of hAF-MSCs with HeLa cells could decrease the viability of tumor cells. The reduction of HeLa cell viability was accompanied by an increase in BAX, TP53, and CDKN1A while a decrease in BCL-2 gene expression. Eventually, the analysis of the regulatory network revealed that the co-culture of Hela cells with hAF-MSCs activated several transcriptional factors and microRNAs which regulated the expression of these genes.

In general, hAF-MSCs exerted the inhibitive effects on the growth of HeLa cells, along with alterations in the expression of common pro-apoptotic and pro-survival genes in a timely and concentration-dependent manner.