Objective. To compare the properties of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow, synovium, periosteum, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue.Methods. Human mesenchymal tissues were obtained from 8 donors during knee surgery for ligament injury. After collagenase digestion or gradient-density separation, nucleated cells were plated at an appropriate density for expansion at the maximum rate without colony-to-colony contact. Yield, expandability, differentiation potential, and epitope profile were compared among MSCs from the 5 different tissue sources.Results. Colony number per 10 3 nucleated cells was lower, and cell number per colony was higher, in bone marrow than in other mesenchymal tissues. When the cells were replated at low density every 14 days, bone marrow-, synovium-, and periosteum-derived cells retained their proliferation ability even at passage 10. In chondrogenesis studies in which the cells were pelleted and cultured in vitro, pellets from bone marrow-, synovium-, and periosteum-derived cells were shown to be larger and stained more extensively for cartilage matrix. Synovium-derived cells, in particular, had the greatest ability for chondrogenesis. In adipogenesis experiments, the frequency of oil red O-positive colonies was highest in synovium-and adipose tissue-derived cells. In studies of osteogenesis, the rate of alizarin red-positive colonies was highest in bone marrow-, synovium-, and periosteum-derived cells. For epitope profiling, 15 surface antigens were measured. Most appeared to have similar epitope profiles irrespective of cell source.Conclusion. Our findings indicate that there are significant differences in MSC properties according to tissue source, beyond donor and experimental variation. Superiority of synovium as a potential source of MSCs for clinical applications was demonstrated.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are increasingly being reported as occurring in a variety of tissues. Although MSCs from human bone marrow are relatively easy to harvest, the isolation of rodent MSCs is more difficult, thereby limiting the number of experiments in vivo. To determine a suitable cell source, we isolated rat MSCs from bone marrow, synovium, periosteum, adipose, and muscle and compared their properties for yield, expansion, and multipotentiality. After two passages, the cells in each population were CD11b (-), CD45 (-), and CD90 (+). The colony number per nucleated cells derived from synovium was 100-fold higher than that for cells derived from bone marrow. With regard to expansion potential, synovium-derived cells were the highest in colony-forming efficiency, fold increase, and growth kinetics. An in vitro chondrogenesis assay demonstrated that the pellets derived from synovium were heavier, because of their greater production of cartilage matrix, than those from other tissues, indicating their superiority in chondrogenesis. Synovium-derived cells retained their chondrogenic potential after a few passages. The Oil Red-O positive colony-rate assay demonstrated higher adipogenic potential in synovium- and adipose-derived cells. Alkaline phosphatase activity was greater in periosteum- and muscle-derived cells during calcification. The yield and proliferation potential of rat MSCs from solid tissues was much better than those from bone marrow. In particular, synovium-derived cells had the greatest potential for both proliferation and chondrogenesis, indicating their usefulness for cartilage study in a rat model.

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Objective. Mesenchymal stem cells from synovium have a greater proliferation and chondrogenic potential than do those from bone marrow, periosteum, fat, and muscle. This study was undertaken to compare fibrous synovium and adipose synovium (components of the synovium with subsynovium) to determine which is a more suitable source for mesenchymal stem cells, especially for cartilage regeneration, and to examine the features of adipose synovium-derived cells, fibrous synovium-derived cells, and subcutaneous fat-derived cells to determine their similarities.Methods. Human fibrous synovium, adipose synovium, and subcutaneous fat were harvested from 4 young donors and 4 elderly donors. After digestion, the nucleated cells were plated at a density considered proper to expand at a maximum rate without colony-to-colony contact. The surface epitopes, proliferative capacity, cloning efficiency, and chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic differentiation potentials of the cells were compared.Results. Fibrous synovium-and adipose synovium-derived cells were higher in STRO-1 and CD106 and lower in CD10 compared with subcutaneous fat-derived cells. Cells derived from fibrous and adipose synovium had higher proliferative potential and colonyforming efficiency compared with subcutaneous fatderived cells, both in mixed-population and in singlecell-derived cultures. In chondrogenic assays, pellets from fibrous synovium-and adipose synovium-derived cells produced more cartilage matrix than did cell pellets from subcutaneous fat. Osteogenic ability was also higher in fibrous synovium-and adipose synovium-derived cells, whereas adipogenic potential was nearly indistinguishable among the 3 populations. Differentiation potential of the cells was similar between young and elderly donors.Conclusion. Cells derived from the fibrous synovium and from the adipose synovium demonstrate comparable chondrogenic potential. Adipose synoviumderived cells are more similar to fibrous synoviumderived cells than to subcutaneous fat-derived cells.

The findings of this study indicated that PDL cells possess crucial stem cell properties, such as self-renewal and multipotency, and express the mesenchymal stem cell markers CD105, CD166, and STRO-1 on their cell surface, although there were some variations. Thus, PDL cells can be used for periodontal regenerative procedures.