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

Objective To investigate osteogenic potential of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs).Methods We observed the morphological changes of human bone marrow MSCs under in vitro conditional culture for osteogenic induction.Alkaline phosphatase activity,matrix mineralization and expression of type I collagen were also studied with cellular immunochemical assays. Results MSCs became polyedged morphologically after 15 days induction in conditional culture. Histological analysis of the cells revealed the characteristics of osteogenic differentiation with strong staining for alkaline phosphatase activity,immunochemical expression of type I collagens,and formation of mineralized nodules.Conclusion MSCs derived from human bone marrow may be induced in vitro into osteoblast-like cells under conditional culture media,which may serve as the potential source of osteogenic seed cells for bone tissue engineering.