In this study, we aimed at investigating the interactions between primary chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) accounting for improved chondrogenesis in coculture systems. Expanded MSC from human bone marrow (BM-MSC) or adipose tissue (AT-MSC) were cultured in pellets alone (monoculture) or with primary human chondrocytes from articular (AC) or nasal (NC) cartilage (coculture). In order to determine the reached cell number and phenotype, selected pellets were generated by combining: (i) human BM-MSC with bovine AC, (ii) BM-MSC from HLA-A2+ with AC from HLA-A2- donors, or (iii) human green fluorescent protein transduced BM-MSC with AC. Human BM-MSC and AC were also cultured separately in transwells. Resulting tissues and/or isolated cells were assessed immunohistologically, biochemically, cytofluorimetrically, and by RT-PCR. Coculture of NC or AC (25%) with BM-MSC or AT-MSC (75%) in pellets resulted in up to 1.6-fold higher glycosaminoglycan content than what would be expected based on the relative percentages of the different cell types. This effect was not observed in the transwell model. BM-MSC decreased in number (about fivefold) over time and, if cocultured with chondrocytes, increased type II collagen and decreased type X collagen expression. Instead, AC increased in number (4.2-fold) if cocultured with BM-MSC and maintained a differentiated phenotype. Chondro-induction in MSC-chondrocyte coculture is a robust process mediated by two concomitant effects: MSC-induced chondrocyte proliferation and chondrocyte-enhanced MSC chondrogenesis. The identified interactions between progenitor and mature cell populations may lead to the efficient use of freshly harvested chondrocytes for ex vivo cartilage engineering or in situ cartilage repair.

IntroductionThe capacity of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) to be induced into chondrocytes has drawn much attention for cell-based cartilage repair. BMSCs represent a small proportion of cells of the bone marrow stromal compartment and, thus, culture expansion is a necessity for therapeutic use. However, there is no consensus on how BMSCs should be isolated nor expanded to maximize their chondrogenic potential. During embryonic development pluripotent stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes and form cartilage in a hypoxic microenvironment.MethodsFreshly harvested human BMSCs were isolated and expanded from the aspirates of six donors, under either hypoxic conditions (3% O2) or normoxic conditions (21% O2). A colony-forming unit fibroblastic (Cfu-f) assay was used to determine the number of cell colonies developed from each donor. BMSCs at passage 2 (P2) were characterized by flow cytometry for the phenotypic expression of cell surface markers on mesenchymal stem cells. BMSCs at P2 were subsequently cultured in vitro as three-dimensional cell pellets in a defined serum-free chondrogenic medium under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Chondrogenic differentiation of the BMSCs was characterized by biochemical and histological methods and by quantitative gene-expression analysis.ResultsAfter 14 days of culture, the number of BMSC colonies developed under hypoxia was generally higher (8% to 38% depending on donor) than under normoxia. BMSCs were positive for the cell surface markers CD13, CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105 and CD151, and negative for CD34. Regardless of the oxygen tension during pellet culture, hypoxia-expanded BMSC pellets underwent a more robust chondrogenesis than normoxia-expanded BMSC pellets after three weeks of culture, as judged by increased glycosaminoglycan synthesis and Safranin O staining, along with increased mRNA expression of aggrecan, collagen II and Sox9. Hypoxic conditions enhanced the mRNA expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2α) but suppressed the mRNA expression of collagen X in BMSC pellet cultures regardless of the oxygen tension during BMSC isolation and propagation.ConclusionsTaken together, our data demonstrate that isolation and expansion of BMSCs under hypoxic conditions augments the chondrogenic potential of BMSCs. This suggests that hypoxia-mediated isolation and expansion of BMSCs may improve clinical applications of BMSCs for cartilage repair.

Stem cells derived from the infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) are a potential source of stem cells for the repair of articular cartilage defects. Hypoxia has been shown to improve chondrogenesis in adult stem cells. In this study we investigated the effects of hypoxia on gene expression changes and chondrogenesis in stem cells from the IPFP removed from elderly patients with osteoarthritis at total knee replacement. Adherent colonyforming cells were isolated and cultured from the IPFP from total knee replacement. The cells at passage 2 were characterised for stem cell surface epitopes, and then cultured for 14 days as cell aggregates in chondrogenic medium under normoxic (20% oxygen) or hypoxic (5% oxygen) conditions. Gene expression analysis, DNA and glycosoaminoglycan assays and immunohistochemical staining were determined to assess chondrogenesis. IPFP-derived adherent colony-forming cells stained strongly for markers of adult mesenchymal stem cells, including CD44, CD90 and CD105, and they were negative for the haematopoietic cell marker CD34 and for the neural and myogenic cell marker CD56. Cell aggregates of IPFP cells showed a chondrogenic response. In hypoxic conditions there was increased matrix accumulation of proteoglycan but less cell proliferation, which resulted in 3.5-fold more glycosoaminoglycan per DNA after 14 days of culture. In hypoxia there was increased expression of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (HIF)2α and not HIF1α, and the expression of key transcription factors SOX5, SOX6 and SOX9, and that of aggrecan, versican and collagens II, IX, X and XI, was also increased. These results show that cells with stem cell characteristics were isolated from the IPFP of elderly patients with osteoarthritis and that their response to chondrogenic culture was enhanced by lowered oxygen tension, which upregulated HIF2α and increased the synthesis and assembly of matrix during chondrogenesis. This has important implications for tissue engineering applications of cells derived from the IPFP.

Articular cartilage has a limited capacity to repair following injury. Early intervention is required to prevent progression of focal traumatic chondral and osteochondral defects to advanced cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis. Novel cell-based tissue engineering techniques have been proposed with the goal of resurfacing defects with bioengineered tissue that recapitulates the properties of hyaline cartilage and integrates into native tissue. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a promising strategy given the high proliferative capacity of MSCs and their potential to differentiate into cartilage-producing cells - chondrocytes. MSCs are historically harvested through bone marrow aspiration, which does not require invasive surgical intervention or cartilage extraction from other sites as required by other cell-based strategies. Biomaterial matrices are commonly used in conjunction with MSCs to aid cell delivery and support chondrogenic differentiation, functional extracellular matrix formation and three-dimensional tissue development. A number of specific transplantation protocols have successfully resurfaced articular cartilage in animals and humans to date. In the clinical literature, MSC-seeded scaffolds have filled a majority of defects with integrated hyaline-like cartilage repair tissue based on arthroscopic, histologic and imaging assessment. Positive functional outcomes have been reported at 12 to 48 months post-implantation, but future work is required to assess long-term outcomes with respect to other treatment modalities. Despite relatively positive outcomes, further investigation is required to establish a consensus on techniques for treatment of chondral and osteochondral defects with respect to cell source, isolation and expansion, implantation density, in vitro precultivation, and scaffold composition. This will allow for further optimization of MSC proliferation, chondrogenic differentiation, bioengineered cartilage integration, and clinical outcome.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13075-014-0432-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The promise of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering is founded on the ability to regenerate diseased or damaged tissues and organs into functional tissues and organs or the creation of new tissues and organs altogether. In theory, damaged and diseased tissues and organs can be regenerated or created using different configurations and combinations of extracellular matrix (ECM), cells, and inductive biomolecules. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering can allow the improvement of patients’ quality of life through availing novel treatment options. The coupling of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering with 3D printing, big data, and computational algorithms is revolutionizing the treatment of patients in a huge way. 3D bioprinting allows the proper placement of cells and ECMs, allowing the recapitulation of native microenvironments of tissues and organs. 3D bioprinting utilizes different bioinks made up of different formulations of ECM/biomaterials, biomolecules, and even cells. The choice of the bioink used during 3D bioprinting is very important as properties such as printability, compatibility, and physical strength influence the final construct printed. The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides both physical and mechanical microenvironment needed by cells to survive and proliferate. Decellularized ECM bioink contains biochemical cues from the original native ECM and also the right proportions of ECM proteins. Different techniques and characterization methods are used to derive bioinks from several tissues and organs and to evaluate their quality. This review discusses the uses of decellularized ECM bioinks and argues that they represent the most biomimetic bioinks available. In addition, we briefly discuss some polymer-based bioinks utilized in 3D bioprinting.

Transplantation of human islets is an attractive alternative to daily insulin injections for patients with type 1 diabetes. However, the majority of islet recipients lose graft function within five years. Inflammation is a primary contributor to graft loss, and inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine activity can reverse inflammation mediated dysfunction of islet grafts. As mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess numerous immunoregulatory properties, we hypothesized that MSCs could protect human islets from pro-inflammatory cytokines. Five hundred human islets were co-cultured with 0.5 or 1.0×106 human MSCs derived from bone marrow or pancreas for 24 hours followed by 48 hour exposure to interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin 1β. Controls include islets cultured alone (± cytokines) and with human dermal fibroblasts (± cytokines). For all conditions, glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), total islet cellular insulin content, islet β cell apoptosis, and potential cytoprotective factors secreted in the culture media were determined. Cytokine exposure disrupted human islet GSIS based on stimulation index and percentage insulin secretion. Conversely, culture with 1.0×106 bMSCs preserved GSIS from cytokine treated islets. Protective effects were not observed with fibroblasts, indicating that preservation of human islet GSIS after exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines is MSC dependent. Islet β cell apoptosis was observed in the presence of cytokines; however, culture of bMSCs with islets prevented β cell apoptosis after cytokine treatment. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) as well as matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 were also identified as putative secreted cytoprotective factors; however, other secreted factors likely play a role in protection. This study, therefore, demonstrates that MSCs may be beneficial for islet engraftment by promoting cell survival and reduced inflammation.

Under our experimental conditions, only AC generated tissues containing relevant amounts of GAG and with cell phenotypes compatible with those of the inner and outer meniscus regions. Instead, the other investigated cell sources formed tissues resembling only the outer region of meniscus. It remains to be determined whether grafts based on AC will have the ability to reach the complex structural and functional organization typical of meniscus tissue.

Introduction Infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) is a possible source of stem cells for the repair of articular cartilage defects. In this study, adherent proliferative cells were isolated from digests of IPFP tissue. The effects of the expansion of these cells in fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) were tested on their proliferation, characterisation, and chondrogenic potential.