Effect of magnesium on reducing the UV‐induced oxidative damage in marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract Oxidative stress could cause damage to lipids, proteins and DNA, which is induced by the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the biological system ability to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects. The oxidative stress damage significantly contributes to a number of diseases. Magnesium (Mg) is endowed with a novel function of removing excess ROS by releasing H₂ during the degradation. In this study, in order to explore the property of anti‐oxidative damage of Mg metal, rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) oxidative damaged by ultraviolet (UV) radiation was employed to co‐culture with Mg metal. The effect of Mg metal on the response of antioxidant enzymes and mitochondria in MSCs was studied. We found that Mg metal could reduce the cellular oxidative stress damage and elevate the activities of antioxidant enzymes to maintain redox homeostasis. In addition, Mg metal could reduce the risk of UV‐induced cell apoptosis by increasing the ratio of Bcl‐2/Bax, elevating the mitochondrial membrane potential and blocking the release of cytochrome c. This finding showed Mg metal might have the potential for treating diseases caused by oxidative stress damage. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 1253–1263, 2019.