Moringin Pretreatment Inhibits the Expression of Genes Involved in Mitophagy in the Stem Cell of the Human Periodontal Ligament

Moringin [4-(α-L-rhamnosyloxy) benzyl isothiocyanate] is an isothiocyanate extracted from Moringa oleifera seeds. It is an antioxidant known for several biological properties useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Several neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases are linked to dysfunctional mitochondria due to the resulting increase of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Stem cell-based therapeutic treatments in neurodegenerative diseases provide an alternative strategy aimed to replace the impaired tissue. In this study were investigated the deregulated genes involved in mitophagy in the human periodontal ligament stem cells pretreated with moringin. The RNA-seq study reveals the downregulation of PINK1, with a fold change (FC) of −0.56, such as the genes involved in the phagophore formation (MAP1LC3B FC: −0.73, GABARAP FC: −0.52, GABARAPL1 FC: −0.70, GABARAPL2 FC: −0.39). The moringin pretreatment downregulates the pro−apoptotic gene BAX (−0.66) and upregulates the anti-apoptotic genes BCL2L12 (FC: 1.35) and MCL1 (FC: 0.36). The downregulation of the most of the caspases (CASP1 FC: −1.43, CASP4 FC: −0.18, CASP6 FC: −1.34, CASP7 FC: −0.46, CASP8 FC: −0.65) implies the inactivation of the apoptotic process. Our results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunctions induced by oxidative stress can be inhibited by moringin pretreatment in human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs).