OBJECTIVETo investigate the autophagy activity changes of umbilical cord mesenchymal cells (MSC) under hypobaric hypoxia and the effect of hypobaric hypoxia on cell viability.

METHODSUmbilical cord mesenchymal cells were cultured in the chamber of hypobaric hypoxia with an air pressure of 41.1 kPa and an oxygen density of 1%. At 0, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 hours, the cells were harvested for Western blot and real-time PCR to observe the expression level of the autophagy marker protein LC3B. And the cell viability under hypobaric hypoxia was evaluated after treatment with autophagy inhibitors HCQ (8 μg/ml) and 3MA (5 mmol/L).

RESULTSLC3B expression in MSC at protein and mRNA levels were up-regulated significantly after being cultured under hypobaric hypoxia condition for 8 hours. And compared with the control group, inhibition of autophagy reduced cell viability while increased Caspase-3 expression and the incidence of apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONHypobaric hypoxia activates autophagy in MSC, and the activation of autophagy might play a protective role for cell survival.