Understanding the effects of hypo-osmolarity on mouse embryonic stem cells

Abstract

The role of the extracellular environment in the growth and development of cells is an emerging field. It has been shown that mechanical cues like osmotic stress, shear stress, etc affect the growth, development and survival of cells. This project looks at the effect of a mechanical stress, hypo-osmotic stress on mouse embryonic stem cells. This project shows how long-term and short-term hypo-osmotic stress affects mouse embryonic stem cells. Our studies show that the occludin level does not change under 2 hours of hypo-osmotic stress. Our studies also show that the E-cadherin level does not change under 2 hours of hypo-osmotic stress. It also shows that 2 hours of hypo-osmotic stress doesn’t cause any cell cycle arrests. We saw a reduction in the mRNA expression of pluripotency markers such as Sox2, Nanog, Oct4 and Klf4, in response to hypo-osmotic stress of 2 hours. Our study also depicts the short-term changes in cellular area upon osmotic stress.