Crosstalk between adipose-derived stem cells and chondrocytes: when growth factors matter

Abstract

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and mesenchymal stem cells are promising for tissue repair because of their multilineage differentiation capacity. Our previous data confirmed that the implantation of mixed ASCs and chondrocytes into cartilage defects induced desirable in vivo healing outcomes. However, the paracrine action of ASCs on chondrocytes needs to be further elucidated. In this study, we established a co-culture system to achieve cell-to-cell and cell-to-tissue crosstalk and explored the soluble growth factors in both ASCs and chondrocytes supplemented with 1% fetal bovine serum to mimic the physiological microenvironment. In ASCs, we screened for growth factors by semi-quantitative PCR and quantitative real-time PCR and found that the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGFB), hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), and transforming growth factor-β1 significantly increased after co-culture in comparison with mono-culture. In chondrocytes, VEGFA was significantly enhanced after co-culture. Unexpectedly, the expression of collagen II and aggrecan was significantly down-regulated in the co-culture group compared with the mono-culture group. Meanwhile, among all the growth factors screened, we found that the BMP family members BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-5 were down-regulated and that VEGFB, HIF-1α, FGF-2, and PDGF were significantly decreased after co-culture. These results suggest that crosstalk between ASCs and chondrocytes is a pathway through the regulated growth factors that might have potential in cartilage repair and regeneration and could be useful for tissue engineering.

Cartilage repair: Cell cross-talk potential key to tissue engineering

Cartilage cells and stem cells from fat tissue affect each other in ways that could be harnessed to improve cartilage repair. Yunfeng Lin and colleagues from Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, previously showed that implantation of adipose-derived stem cells and cartilage cells into rabbit knee promoted good cartilage repair. In this study, they aimed to reveal the mechanisms involved. The researchers cultured both cell types (from rats) alone and together to see how they affected each other. Co-culture altered the expression of several genes related to growth and proliferation in both cell types, and the growth and structures of the cells were changed. The researchers conclude that cross-talk between the cell types alters their properties and affects their ability to generate cartilage cells. Manipulation of the mechanism could improve tissue engineering for cartilage repair.

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