Oxygen Level Modifies the Expression of Genes Involved in the Epigenetic Regulation of Multipotent Stromal Cells In Vitro.

Changes in the transcriptional activity of genes involved in the epigenetic regulation of adipose tissue multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells were analyzed in vitro at different O levels. DNA microarray study showed that the most pronounced changes in gene expression, including genes responsible for the epigenetic regulation of mesenchymal stromal cells, occurred at 3% O. A lower number of genes changed the expression at 1% O, and a minimum response was observed at 5% O in comparison with standard culturing conditions (20% O). The greatest number of differentially expressed genes were genes responsible for the regulation of histones; the genes encoding products that regulate chromatin, DNA, and RNA constituted a lower part. Thus, the degree of hypoxia can modify the response of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells at the level of epigenetic regulators.