Selenomethionine protects oxidative-stress-damaged bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells via an antioxidant effect and the PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway

Dental implant surgery is currently a routine therapy for the repair of missing dentition or dentition defects. Both clinical and basic research have elucidated that oxidative stress caused by the accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) for various reasons impairs the process of osteointegration after dental implantation. Therefore, the osteogenic micro-environment must be ameliorated to decrease the damage caused by oxidative stress. Selenomethionine (SEMET) has been reported to play an important role in alleviating oxidative stress and accelerating cell viability and growth. However, it remains unclear whether it exerts protective effects on bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) under oxidative stress. In this study, we explored the influence of selenomethionine on the viability and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs under oxidative stress and the underlying mechanisms. Results showed that 1 μM selenomethionine was the optimum concentration for BMSCs under H₂O₂ stimulation. H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress suppressed the viability and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, manifested by the increases in ROS production and cell Apoptosis rates, and by the decrease of osteogenic differentiation-related markers. Notably, the aforementioned oxidative damage and osteogenic dysfunction induced by H₂O₂ were rescued by selenomethionine. Furthermore, we found that the PTEN expression level was suppressed and its downstream PI3K/Akt pathway was activated by selenomethionine. However, when PTEN was stimulated, the PI3K/Akt pathway was down-regulated, and the protective effects of selenomethionine on BMSC osteogenic differentiation diminished, while the inhibition of PTEN up-regulated the protective effects of selenomethionine. Together, these results revealed that selenomethionine could attenuate H₂O₂-induced BMSC dysfunction through an antioxidant effect, modulated via the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathway, suggesting that selenomethionine is a promising antioxidant candidate for reducing oxidative stress during the process of dental implant osteointegration.