Spheroid Culture System, a Promising Method for Chondrogenic Differentiation of Dental Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to develop a three-dimensional culture model to evaluate, in a short period of time, cartilage tissue engineering protocols. The spheroids were compared with the gold standard pellet culture. The dental mesenchymal stem cell lines were from pulp and periodontal ligament. The evaluation used RT-qPCR and Alcian Blue staining of the cartilage matrix. This study showed that the spheroid model allowed for obtaining greater fluctuations of the chondrogenesis markers than for the pellet one. The two cell lines, although originating from the same organ, led to different biological responses. Finally, biological changes were detectable for short periods of time. In summary, this work demonstrated that the spheroid model is a valuable tool for studying chondrogenesis and the mechanisms of osteoarthritis, and evaluating cartilage tissue engineering protocols.

Cartilage-Specific Gene Expression and Extracellular Matrix Deposition in the Course of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Chondrogenic Differentiation in 3D Spheroid Culture

“…This research aimed to determine the ‘ideal’ source of MSCs for cartilage tissue engineering, which is ongoing, and various types of MSCs were shown to assist in articular cartilage repair. Mélou et al, using adult dental pulp MSCs, demonstrated that a spheroid model ensures higher expression of chondrogenesis markers compared to monolayer or pellet culture [ 21 ]. By reviewing the reported clinical trials, Peng et al found that osteoarthritis cell-based therapy translational research is mostly limited to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMMSCs), ATMSCs, and WJMSCs [ 22 ].…”