In tissue engineering, urine-derived stem cells are ideal seed cells and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are perfect antimicrobial agents. Due to a distinct lack of information on the effects of AgNPs on urine-derived stem cells, a study was conducted to evaluate the effects of silver ions and AgNPs upon the cytotoxicity and osteogenic differentiation of urine-derived stem cells. Initially, AgNPs or AgNO3 were exposed to urine-derived stem cells for 24 hours. Cytotoxicity was measured using the Cell Counting kit-8 (CCK-8) test. The effects of AgNPs or AgNO3 at the maximum safety concentration determined by the CCK-8 test on osteogenic differentiation of urine-derived stem cells were assessed by alkaline phosphatase activity, Alizarin Red S staining, and the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Lastly, the effects of AgNPs or AgNO3 on "urine-derived stem cell actin cytoskeleton organization" and RhoA activity were assessed by rhodamine-phalloidin staining and Western blotting. Concentration-dependent toxicity was observed starting at an AgNO3 concentration of 2 μg/mL and at an AgNP concentration of 4 μg/mL. At these concentrations, AgNPs were observed to promote osteogenic differentiation of urine-derived stem cells, induce actin polymerization and increase cytoskeletal tension, and activate RhoA; AgNO3 had no such effects. In conclusion, AgNPs can promote osteogenic differentiation of urine-derived stem cells at a suitable concentration, independently of silver ions, and are suitable for incorporation into tissue-engineered scaffolds that utilize urine-derived stem cells as seed cells.
Keywords: cytotoxicity; osteogenic differentiation; silver nanoparticles; stem cell.