Osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells through the Use of novel scaffolds

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to differentiate along multiple lineage cell types, including bone, cartilage, muscle, etc., under different environments/stimuli. In the bone regeneration process in human bodies, MSCs are recruited from the bone marrow and periosteum and may responsively differentiate into chondrocytes, osteoblasts or fibroblasts, depending on the biological and other conditions. MSCs from other sources such as adipose, umbilical cord and muscle may also be regulated for osteogenic differentiation in vivo by cytokines, hormones, growth factors, etc. secreted by surrounding cells. For in vitro osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, some inducing factors including both chemical factors and physical factors are necessary. Several members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, such as bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and BMP-7, have shown promising results in stimulating osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. In our research in bone tissue engineering, nanocomposite scaffolds containing recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) could be produced using selective laser sintering, a rapid prototyping technology. Furthermore, hybrid nanofibrous scaffolds with incorporated rhBMP-2 could be fabricated via electrospinning. Using these scaffolds, it has been demonstrated through in vitro and in vivo studies that osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, such as C3H10T1/2 cells, human bone marrow-derived MSCs and human umbilical cord-derived MSCs, could be induced. The studies have also shown that the osteogenic differentiation is influenced by a number of scaffold parameters.