Open AccessSoluble Collagen VI treatment enhances mesenchymal stem cells expansion for engineering cartilage
Author(s) -
Smeriglio Piera,
Lee Jieun,
Bhutani Nidhi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
bioengineering and translational medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2380-6761
DOI - 10.1002/btm2.10078
Subject(s) - mesenchymal stem cell , aggrecan , cartilage , chondrogenesis , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , extracellular matrix , chemistry , type ii collagen , stem cell transplantation for articular cartilage repair , cd90 , population , tissue engineering , immunology , osteoarthritis , cellular differentiation , adult stem cell , biology , biomedical engineering , pathology , medicine , anatomy , biochemistry , cd34 , articular cartilage , alternative medicine , environmental health , gene
Bone Marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM‐MSC) are an attractive source for cell‐based therapies in cartilage injury owing to their efficient differentiation into chondrocytes and their immune‐suppressive abilities. However, their clinical use is hampered by a scarcity of cells leading to compromised efficacy. While expansion of human MSC ex vivo can potentially overcome the scarcity of cells, current methods lead to a rapid loss of the stem cell properties. In this study, we report soluble Collagen VI (cartilage pericellular matrix component) as a potential biologic that can expand the MSC population while maintaining the stem cell phenotype as confirmed by expression of the stem cell markers CD105 and CD90. Short‐term treatment with Collagen VI additionally retains the potential of MSC to differentiate into mature chondrocytes in pellet culture. Cartilage pellets generated from MSC treated with Collagen VI or control express comparable amounts of the chondrogenic markers Collagen II, Aggrecan and Sox9, and the extracellular glycosaminoglycans. Our observations confirm that the use of the endogenous and cartilage‐specific factor Collagen VI is valuable for a rapid and efficient expansion of MSC for potential use in cartilage regeneration and osteoarthritis.