The Synergistic Effect of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and Chamomile Oil on Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Into Insulin-Producing Cells

Objective: glucagon-like peptide-1 (glp-1) has attracted tremendous attention for treatment of diabetes. likewise, it seems that active ingredients of chamomile oil might have anti-diabetic effects. this work was conducted to investigate the effects of the combination of glp-1 and chamomile oil on differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (mscs) into functional insulin-producing cells (ipcs). materials and methods: in this experimental study, adipose mscs derived from the adult male new zealand white rabbits were assigned into four groups: control (without any treatment); glp-1 (in which cells were treated with 10 nm glp-1 every other day for 5 days); chamomile oil (in which cells were treated with 100 ug/ml matricaria chamomilla l. flower oil every other day for 5 days); and glp-1+ chamomile oil (in which cells were treated with 10 nm glp-1 and 100 μg/ml m. chamomilla flower oil every other day for 5 days). characterization of isolated mscs was performed using flow cytometry, alizarin red s staining and oil red o staining. the expressions of genes specific for ipcs were measured using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) assay. measurement of insulin and the cleaved connecting peptide (c-peptide) in response to different concentrations of glucose, were performed using elisa kits. results: our results demonstrated that isolated cells highly expressed msc markers and were able to differentiate into osteocytes and adipocytes. additionally, using glp-1 in combination with chamomile oil exhibited higher levels of ipcs gene markers including nk homeobox gene 2.2 (nkx-2.2), paired box gene 4 (pax4), insulin (ins) and pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (pdx1) as well as insulin and c-peptide secretion in response to different glucose concentrations compared to glp-1 or chamomile oil alone (p<0.05). conclusion: collectively, these findings establish a substantial foundation for using peptides in combination with natural products to obtain higher efficiency in regenerative medicine and peptide therapy.