Future cell-based therapies such as tissue engineering will benefit from a source of autologous pluripotent stem cells. For mesodermal tissue engineering, one such source of cells is the bone marrow stroma. The bone marrow compartment contains several cell populations, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are capable of differentiating into adipogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, and myogenic cells. However, autologous bone marrow procurement has potential limitations. An alternate source of autologous adult stem cells that is obtainable in large quantities, under local anesthesia, with minimal discomfort would be advantageous. In this study, we determined if a population of stem cells could be isolated from human adipose tissue. Human adipose tissue, obtained by suction-assisted lipectomy (i.e., liposuction), was processed to obtain a fibroblast-like population of cells or a processed lipoaspirate (PLA). These PLA cells can be maintained in vitro for extended periods with stable population doubling and low levels of senescence. Immunofluorescence and flow cytometry show that the majority of PLA cells are of mesodermal or mesenchymal origin with low levels of contaminating pericytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. Finally, PLA cells differentiate in vitro into adipogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic, and osteogenic cells in the presence of lineage-specific induction factors. In conclusion, the data support the hypothesis that a human lipoaspirate contains multipotent cells and may represent an alternative stem cell source to bone marrow-derived MSCs.

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Multilineage cells from human adipose tissue: implications for cell-based therapies.

Marrow stromal cells can be isolated from other cells in marrow by their tendency to adhere to tissue culture plastic The cells have many of the characteristics of stem cells for tissues that can roughly be defined as mesenchymal, because they can be differentiated in culture into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and even myoblasts Therefore, marrow stromal cells present an intriguing model for examining the differentiation of stem cells Also, they have several characteristics that make them potentially useful for cell and gene therapy

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/276/5309/71.full.pdf

Marrow Stromal Cells as Stem Cells for Nonhematopoietic Tissues

We have used the pH-induced self-assembly of a peptide-amphiphile to make a nanostructured fibrous scaffold reminiscent of extracellular matrix. The design of this peptide-amphiphile allows the nanofibers to be reversibly cross-linked to enhance or decrease their structural integrity. After cross-linking, the fibers are able to direct mineralization of hydroxyapatite to form a composite material in which the crystallographic c axes of hydroxyapatite are aligned with the long axes of the fibers. This alignment is the same as that observed between collagen fibrils and hydroxyapatite crystals in bone.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/294/5547/1684.full.pdf

Self-assembly and mineralization of peptide-amphiphile nanofibers

Human bone marrow contains a population of cells capable of differentiating along multiple mesenchymal cell lineages. Recently, techniques for the purification and culture-expansion of these human marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have been developed. The goals of the current study were to establish a reproducible system for the in vitro osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs, and to characterize the effect of changes in the microenvironment upon the process. MSCs derived from 2nd or 3rd passage were cultured for 16 days in various base media containing 1 to 1000 nM dexamethasone (Dex), 0.01 to 4 mM L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (AsAP) or 0.25 mM ascorbic acid, and 1 to 10 mM beta-glycerophosphate (beta GP). Optimal osteogenic differentiation, as determined by osteoblastic morphology, expression of alkaline phosphatase (APase), reactivity with anti-osteogenic cell surface monoclonal antibodies, modulation of osteocalcin mRNA production, and the formation of a mineralized extracellular matrix containing hydroxyapatite was achieved with DMEM base medium plus 100 nM Dex, 0.05 mM AsAP, and 10 mM beta GP. The formation of a continuously interconnected network of APase-positive cells and mineralized matrix supports the characterization of this progenitor population as homogeneous. While higher initial seeding densities did not affect cell number of APase activity, significantly more mineral was deposited in these cultures, suggesting that events which occur early in the differentiation process are linked to end-stage phenotypic expression. Furthermore, cultures allowed to concentrate their soluble products in the media produced more mineralized matrix, thereby implying a role for autocrine or paracrine factors synthesized by human MSCs undergoing osteoblastic lineage progression. This culture system is responsive to subtle manipulations including the basal nutrient medium, dose of physiologic supplements, cell seeding density, and volume of tissue culture medium. Cultured human MSCs provide a useful model for evaluating the multiple factors responsible for the step-wise progression of cells from undifferentiated precursors to secretory osteoblasts, and eventually terminally differentiated osteocytes.

Osteogenic differentiation of purified, culture‐expanded human mesenchymal stem cells in vitro

Bone marrow stromal cells are progenitors of skeletal tissue components such as bone, cartilage, the hematopoiesis-supporting stroma, and adipocytes. In addition, they may be experimentally induced to undergo unorthodox differentiation, possibly forming neural and myogenic cells. As such, they represent an important paradigm of post-natal nonhematopoietic stem cells, and an easy source for potential therapeutic use. Along with an overview of the basics of their biology, we discuss here their potential nature as components of the vascular wall, and the prospects for their use in local and systemic transplantation and gene therapy.

/pdf/bone-marrow-stromal-stem-cells-nature-biology-and-potential-4bwcon3epf.pdf

Bone Marrow Stromal Stem Cells: Nature, Biology, and Potential Applications

The differentiation of adipocytic and osteogenic cells has been investigated in cultures of adult rat marrow stromal cells. Adipocytic differentiation was assessed using morphological criteria, changes in expression of procollagen mRNAs, consistent with a switch from the synthesis of predominantly fibrillar (types I and III) to basement membrane (type IV) collagen, and the induction of expression of aP2, a specific marker for differentiation of adipocytes. Osteogenic differentiation was assessed on the basis of changes in the abundance of the mRNAs for the bone/liver/kidney isozyme of alkaline phosphatase and the induction of mRNAs for bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin. In the presence of foetal calf serum and dexamethasone (10(-8) M) there was always differentiation of both adipocytic and osteogenic cells. When the steroid was present throughout primary and secondary culture the differentiation of osteogenic cells predominated. Conversely, when dexamethasone was present in secondary culture only, the differentiation of adipocytes predominated. When marrow stromal cells were cultured in the presence of dexamethasone in primary culture and dexamethasone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3; 10(-8) M) in secondary culture, the differentiation of adipocytes was inhibited whereas the differentiation of osteogenic cells was enhanced, as assessed by an increase in expression of osteocalcin mRNA. The results, therefore, demonstrate an inverse relationship between the differentiation of adipocytic and osteogenic cells in this culture system and are consistent with the possibility that the regulation of adipogenesis and osteogenesis can occur at the level of a common precursor in vivo.

C. Devlin

Papers

Evidence for an inverse relationship between the differentiation of adipocytic and osteogenic cells in rat marrow stromal cell cultures

Evidence for an inverse relationship between the differentiation of adipocytic and osteogenic cells