title: TiO2 coating promotes human mesenchymal stem cell proliferation without the loss of their capacity for chondrogenic differentiation.
abstract: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are used in applications, which may require a large amount of cells; therefore, efficient expansion of the cells is desired. We studied whether TiO2 coating on plastic cell culture dishes could promote proliferation of hMSCs without adverse effects in chondrogenic differentiation. TiO2-films were deposited on polystyrene dishes and glass coverslips using an ultrashort pulsed laser deposition technique. Human MSCs from three donors were expanded on them until 95% confluence, and the cells were evaluated by morphology, immunocytochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The chondrogenic differentiation in pellets was performed after cultivation on TiO2-coated dishes. Chondrogenesis was evaluated by histological staining of proteoglycans and type II collagen, and qRT-PCR. Human MSC-associated markers STRO-1, CD44, CD90 and CD146 did not change after expansion on TiO2-coated coverslips. However, the cell number after a 48h-culture period was significantly higher on TiO2-coated culture dishes. Importantly, TiO2 coating caused no significant differences in the proteoglycan and type II collagen staining of the pellets, or the expression of chondrocyte-specific genes in the chondrogenesis assay. Thus, the proliferation of hMSCs could be significantly increased when cultured on TiO2-coated dishes without weakening their chondrogenic differentiation capacity. The transparency of TiO2-films allows easy monitoring of the cell growth and morphology under a phase-contrast microscope.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1F, PO Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Salla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaitainen
authors.forename: Anssi J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Mähönen
authors.forename: Reijo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kröger
authors.forename: Mikko J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lammi
authors.forename: Chengjuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D024043:Collagen Type II; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011509:Proteoglycans; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium