The effects of etomidate and midazolam on adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cell proliferation

BACKGROUND Stem cell therapy using adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs), which are capable of multipotent differentiation, is currently being investigated in the field of tissue regeneration and the treatment of patients in intensive care units. It is known that type-A γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor activity has an influence on stem cell proliferation. Thus, we investigated the effects of the clinically available GABAA receptor agonists, etomidate and midazolam, on ADSC proliferation measured by the cell counting kit-8 assay. METHODS ADSCs cultured in control medium or adipogenic differentiation medium for 15 days were divided into 5 treatment groups: non-medicated (Control) and 4 groups including treatment with etomidate or midazolam at 1 and 50 µM (n = 3 per group). The cell counting kit-8 assay was performed for determining the cell proliferation in both medium groups at day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 in culture. The absorbance values at 450 nm were then measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay reader and statistically compared among groups. RESULTS There was no significant difference in cell proliferation profiles among the 5 groups at any time point in both control and adipogenic differentiation media. CONCLUSIONS Etomidate and midazolam did not influence ADSC proliferation under both media when compared to the non-medicated group and there was no dose-dependent effect of etomidate and midazolam on ADSC viability.