title: Cell number and chondrogenesis in human mesenchymal stem cell aggregates is affected by the sulfation level of heparin used as a cell coating.
abstract: For particular cell-based therapies, it may be required to culture mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) aggregates with growth factors to promote cell proliferation and/or differentiation. Heparin, a negatively charged glycosaminoglycan (GAG) is known to play an important role in sequestration of positively charged growth factors and, when incorporated within cellular aggregates, could be used to promote local availability of growth factors. We have developed a heparin-based cell coating and we believe that the electrostatic interaction between native heparin and the positively charged growth factors will result in (1) higher cell number in response to fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and 2) greater chondrogenic differentiation in response to transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), compared to a desulfated heparin coating. Results revealed that in the presence of FGF-2, by day 14, heparin-coated MSC aggregates increased in DNA content 8.5 ± 1.6 fold compared to day 1, which was greater than noncoated and desulfated heparin-coated aggregates. In contrast, when cultured in the presence of TGF-β1, by day 21, desulfated heparin-coated aggregates upregulated gene expression of collagen II by 86.5 ± 7.5 fold and collagen X by 37.1 ± 4.7 fold, which was higher than that recorded in the noncoated and heparin-coated aggregates. These observations indicate that this coating technology represents a versatile platform to design MSC culture systems with pairings of GAGs and growth factors that can be tailored to overcome specific challenges in scale-up and culture for MSC-based therapeutics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1817-1829, 2016.
authors.affiliation: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia.
authors.forename: Elda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trevino
authors.affiliation: Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia.|Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia.
authors.forename: Johnna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Temenoff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D053674:Aggrecans / Q000378:metabolism; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002452:Cell Count; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053674:Aggrecans; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D013431:Sulfates; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D006493:Heparin; D003094:Collagen; D004247:DNA
keywords: cell coatings; chondrocytic differentiation; growth factor; heparin; mesenchymal stem cells