IKVAV regulates ERK1/2 and Akt signalling pathways in BMMSC population growth and proliferation

OBJECTIVES: The molecular mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMMSC) population growth and proliferation, induced by Isoleucyl‐lysyl‐valyl‐alanyl‐valine (IKVAV), was explored in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: IKVAV peptides were synthesized by the solid‐phase method. Influence of IKVAV on BMMSC population growth and proliferation were investigated by assays of CCK‐8, flow cytometry, real‐time PCR and western blotting. RESULTS: IKVAV peptide was found to induce proliferation and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) synthesis of BMMSC in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis showed that the proportion of IKVAV‐treated BMMSC in S phase in was higher than controls. Western blot results suggested that mitogen‐activated protein kinase/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) and phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signalling pathways were activated by IKVAV by enhancing phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and Akt in the BMMSCs. Meanwhile, phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and Akt were partially blocked by ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059) and Akt inhibitor (wortmannin), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that IKVAV stimulated BMMSC population growth and proliferation by activating MAPK/ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt signalling pathways. This study is the first to reveal an enhancement effect of IKVAV peptide on BMMSC at the signal transduction level, and the outcome could provide experimental evidence for application of IKVAV‐grafted scaffolds in the field of BMMSC‐based tissue engineering.