Open AccessGene expression modulation in TGF ‐β3‐mediated rabbit bone marrow stem cells using electrospun scaffolds of various stiffness
Author(s) -
Guo Qianping,
Liu Chen,
Li Jun,
Zhu Caihong,
Yang Huilin,
Li Bin
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of cellular and molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.44
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1582-4934
pISSN - 1582-1838
DOI - 10.1111/jcmm.12533
Subject(s) - aggrecan , stem cell , chemistry , tissue engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , regeneration (biology) , gene expression , biomedical engineering , osteoarthritis , biology , gene , pathology , biochemistry , medicine , articular cartilage , alternative medicine
Tissue engineering has recently evolved into a promising approach for annulus fibrosus ( AF ) regeneration. However, selection of an ideal cell source, which can be readily differentiated into AF cells of various regions, remains challenging because of the heterogeneity of AF tissue. In this study, we set out to explore the feasibility of using transforming growth factor‐β3‐mediated bone marrow stem cells ( tBMSC s) for AF tissue engineering. Since the differentiation of stem cells significantly relies on the stiffness of substrate, we fabricated nanofibrous scaffolds from a series of biodegradable poly(ether carbonate urethane)‐urea ( PECUU ) materials whose elastic modulus approximated that of native AF tissue. We cultured tBMSC s on PECUU scaffolds and compared their gene expression profile to AF ‐derived stem cells ( AFSC s), the newly identified AF tissue‐specific stem cells. As predicted, the expression of collagen‐I in both tBMSC s and AFSC s increased with scaffold stiffness, whereas the expression of collagen‐II and aggrecan genes showed an opposite trend. Interestingly, the expression of collagen‐I, collagen‐II and aggrecan genes in tBMSC s on PECUU scaffolds were consistently higher than those in AFSC s regardless of scaffold stiffness. In addition, the cell traction forces ( CTF s) of both tBMSC s and AFSC s gradually decreased with scaffold stiffness, which is similar to the CTF change of cells from inner to outer regions of native AF tissue. Together, findings from this study indicate that tBMSC s had strong tendency to differentiate into various types of AF cells and presented gene expression profiles similar to AFSC s, thereby establishing a rationale for the use of tBMSC s in AF tissue engineering.