Growth kinetics of rat mesenchymal stem cells from 3 potential sources: bone marrow, periosteum and adipose tissue.

OBJECTIVE: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have potential in orthopaedic applications as they are able to differentiate into bone and cartilage. These cells can be isolated from a variety of adult tissues. Three sources that are relevant for orthopaedic applications are bone marrow, periosteum and adipose tissue. The purpose of the present study was to compare the growth kinetics and colony forming potency of rat MSCs from these sources. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Bone marrow from the femur periosteum from the femoral diaphysis and adipose tissue from the inguinal area of Wistar rats were harvested for MSC isolation. The cells from 2nd-4th passage from primary culture were selected for study of their growth curves, population doubling time and colony forming ability using the percentage of colony forming units and colony forming area as the outcome measure. RESULTS: The isolated cells from these 3 sources were capable of osteogenesis, chondrogenesis and adipogenesis. The growth kinetics were compared using the growth curve and the population doubling time (PDT): bone marrow derived cells (PDT = 3.99 days, SD = 1.19) and periosteum derived cells (PDT = 3.55 days, SD = 1.21) had faster growth kinetics than adipose derived cells (PDT = 4.65 days, SD = 1.53). The percentage of colony forming units and the colony forming area from bone marrow derived cells (% colony forming unit = 8.58, SD = 1.35 and % colony forming area = 25.12, SD = 7.31) and periosteum derived cells (% colony forming units = 9.92, SD = 2.06, % colony forming area = 32.45, SD = 10.74) were significantly greater (p < 0. 05) than adipose derived cells (% colony forming units = 5.92, SD = 0.78, % colony forming area = 15.80, SD = 9.035). CONCLUSION: The growth kinetics and colony forming potency of MSCs from bone marrow and periosteum were comparable. The bone marrow and periosteum should be a suitable source for MSC isolation. The growth kinetics of MSCs derived from adipose tissue was lower than the other sources. Adipose tissue can be used as an alternative source as it is readily available and dispensable.

3D freehand ultrasound for in vivo determination of human skeletal muscle volume.

Skeletal muscle volume is an important indicator of muscle function. Three-dimensional (3D) freehand ultrasound provides a noninvasive method for determining muscle volume and is acquired using a standard clinical ultrasound machine and an external tracking system to monitor transducer position. Eleven healthy volunteers were scanned with a 3D freehand system that uses an optical tracking device. Interest was concentrated on one of the muscles of the quadriceps group, rectus femoris and volume measurements performed on 30 mm cross-sections were compared with measurements derived from magnetic resonance imaging. Measured muscle volumes ranged from 5 cm(3) to 28 cm(3). The mean difference between measurements from 3D freehand ultrasound and magnetic resonance was 0.53 cm(3) with 95% limits of agreement of +/-2.14 cm(3). Muscle volume measurements obtained using 3D ultrasound were within +/-16% of the corresponding value from magnetic resonance imaging. We have shown for the first time that 3D freehand ultrasound can be used to determine human skeletal muscle volume accurately in vivo.