Enhancing inflammatory and chemotactic signals to regulate bone regeneration.

Stem cells have become the fundamental element in regenerative medicine due to their inherent potential to differentiate into various cell types, and the ability to produce various bioactive molecules, including growth factors, cytokines and extracellular matrix molecules. In vivo, the secretion of tropic factors is modulated by chemotactic and inflammatory factors. In this study, we analysed the influence of a 2 h stimulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with interleukin-1ß (IL1ß), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF), stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1) and stem cell factor (SCF). Our results demonstrated that this short stimulation exerts pronounced effects on the expression of multiple cytokine genes and proteins in MSC cells 48 and 72 h later. IL1ß strongly promoted the secretion of a wide range of proteins with chemotactic, proinflammatory and angiogenic properties, whereas SCF regulated the expression of proteins involved in proliferation, chondrogenesis and ECM regulation. This demonstrates that the changes in secretome can be directed towards a desired final functional outcome by selection of the most appropriate cytokine. Moreover, the expression pattern of Wnt signalling pathway components suggested the differential regulation of this pathway by IL1ß and SCF. Altogether, the robust paracrine action of MSCs can be achieved within a just 2 h treatment, which would be feasible within the operating theatre during a single surgical procedure. These results suggest that integrating inflammatory modulation in bone tissue engineering, by modifying the MSC secretome by way of a short stimulus, would provide a more targeted approach than administering unmodified MSCs alone.

A phenotypic comparison of osteoblast cell lines versus human primary osteoblasts for biomaterials testing.

Immortalized cell lines are used more frequently in basic and applied biology research than primary bone-derived cells because of their ease of access and repeatability of results in experiments. It is clear that these cell models do not fully resemble the behavior of primary osteoblast cells. Although the differences will affect the results of biomaterials testing, they are not clearly defined. Here, we focused on comparing proliferation and maturation potential of three osteoblast cell lines, SaOs2, MG-63, and MC3T3-E1 with primary human osteoblast (HOb) cells to assess their suitability as in vitro models for biomaterials testing. We report similarities in cell proliferation and mineralization between primary cells and MC3T3-E1. Both, SaOs2 and MG-63 cells demonstrated a higher proliferation rate than HOb cells. In addition, SaOs2, but not MG-63, cells demonstrated similar ALP activity, mineralization potential and gene regulation to HOb's. Our results demonstrate that despite SaOs-2, MG63, and MC3T3 cells being popular choices for emulating osteoblast behavior, none can be considered appropriate replacements for HOb's. Nevertheless, these cell lines all demonstrated some distinct similarities with HOb's, thus when applied in the correct context are a valuable in vitro pilot model of osteoblast functionality, but should not be used to replace primary cell studies.

In search of an osteoblast cell model for in vitro research.

The process of bone formation, remodelling and healing involves a coordinated action of various cell types. Advances in understanding the biology of osteoblast cells during these processes have been enabled through the use of various in vitro culture models from different origins. In an era of intensive bone tissue engineering research, these cell models are more and more often applied due to limited availability of primary human osteoblast cells. While they are a helpful tool in developing novel therapies or biomaterials; concerns arise regarding their phenotypic state and differences in relation to primary human osteoblast cells. In this review we discuss the osteoblastic development of some of the available cell models; such as primary human, rat, mouse, bovine, ovine and rabbit osteoblast cells; as well as MC3T3-E1, MG-63 and SaOs-2 cell lines, together with their advantages and disadvantages. Through this, we provide suggestions on the selection of the appropriate and most relevant osteoblast model for in vitro studies, with specific emphasis on cell-material based studies.

The cell-surface interaction.

The realm of surface-dependent cell and tissue responses is the foundation of orthopaedic-device-related research. However, to design materials that elicit specific responses from tissues is a complex proposition mainly because the vast majority of the biological principles controlling the interaction of cells with implants remain largely ambiguous. Nevertheless, many surface properties, such as chemistry and topography, can be manipulated in an effort to selectively control the cell-material interaction. On the basis of this information there has been much research in this area, including studies focusing on the structure and composition of the implant interface, optimization of biological and chemical coatings and elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the subsequent cell-material interactions. Although a wealth of information has emerged, it also advocates the complexity and dynamism of the cell-material interaction. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide the reader with an introduction to the basic concepts of the cell-material interaction and to provide an insight into the factors involved in determining the cell and tissue response to specific surface features, with specific emphasis on surface microtopography.