Experimental studies on chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from human bone marrow

Objectives To investigate the chondrogenic differentiation ability of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs). Methods After adherent cell cultures were established in vitro condition, we observed the morphological changes of human bone marrow MSCs under chondrogenic induction. The expression of type-Ⅱ collagen and glycosaminoglycans were detected by immunohistochemical and cytochemical assay in extracellular matrix. Results MSCs became round or ovoid from spindle shape after 7 days exposure to TGF-β1 and vitamin C in conditional culture. Histological analysis of the cells revealed the characteristics of chondrogenic differentiation with expression of type-Ⅱ collagens and abundance of glycosaminoglycans within the extracellular matrix. Conclusions MSCs derived from human bone marrow may be induced into chondrocytes under conditional culture media in vitro, which may serves as the potential source of chondrogenic seed cells for bone tissue engineering.