Valproic acid boosts hair follicle stem cell resilience to oxygen-glucose deprivation through autophagy induction and AKT/mTOR suppression.

ABSTRACT: Stem cell-based therapy represents a promising strategy for the treatment of ischemic stroke. However, its therapeutic efficacy is limited by the poor survival and migration of transplanted stem cells within the hostile ischemic microenvironment. In this study, we investigated whether preconditioning human hair follicle-derived stem cells (HFSCs) with valproic acid (VPA) could enhance their survival and migration under ischemic-like conditions, with a particular focus on the roles of autophagy and the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. HFSCs were pretreated with 1 mM VPA for 24, 72, or 168 h and then exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) as an in vitro model of ischemic injury. Rapamycin (RAPA), a known autophagy inducer, served as a positive control. VPA pretreatment significantly enhanced

SUBMITTER: Keshavarzi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12816152 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature