A co-culture system of rat synovial stem cells and meniscus cells promotes cell proliferation and differentiation as compared to mono-culture

Abstract

A meniscus tear often happens during active sports. It needs to be repaired or replaced surgically to avoid further damage to the articular cartilage. To address the shortage of autologous meniscal cells, we designed a co-culture system of synovial stem cells (SMSCs) and meniscal cells (MCs) to produce a large cell number and to maintain characteristics of MCs. Different ratios of SMSCs and MCs at 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3 were tested. Mono-culture of SMSCs or MCs served as control groups. Proliferation and differentiation abilities were compared. The expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes in MCs was assessed using an ECM array to reveal the mechanism at the gene level. The co-culture system of SMSCs/MCs at the ratio of 1:3 showed better results than the control groups or those at other ratios. This co-culture system may be a promising strategy for meniscus repair with tissue engineering.

Meniscus Repair and Regeneration

“…However, contrary to popular belief, the synovium only contains a small population of multipotent cells that can form colonies 23,121 . Nevertheless, these cells exhibit multipotent capability as well as surface epitope CD markers in accordance with the ISCT-established MSC marker criteria 122,123 . Namely, these ADSCs express CD90, CD166, CD44, CD105 and CD147 124 .…”

Amnion-Derived Teno-Inductive Secretomes: A Novel Approach to Foster Tendon Differentiation and Regeneration in an Ovine Model

“…This study aims to evaluate the biological effect of CM secretome derived from ovine tendon fetal tissue, in order to propose a new approach able to promote teno-differentiation for veterinary and medical purposes. Tissue co-culture provides a favorable microenvironment for the induction of in vitro tissue specific differentiation (Paschos et al, 2015 ; Xie et al, 2018 ; Chu et al, 2020 ). This approach has been successfully applied to in vitro tenogenesis (Barboni et al, 2012a ), being effective in enabling a stepwise differentiation process in freshly isolated amniotic epithelial cells (AECs).…”

Meniscus Regeneration With Multipotent Stromal Cell Therapies

“…But Cui reported that the 25%: 75% ratio leads to the highest level of chondrogenic production and lowest hypertrophic gene expression (Cui et al, 2012). In another study (Xie et al, 2018), the coculture system of SMSCs/MCs at the ratio of 3:1 showed higher proliferation and more sGAG secretion than the monoculture did. Compared to SMSCs seeded on the construct separately, coculture with MCs yielded a greater cell survival rate and higher expression of chondrogenic markers (Tan et al, 2010).…”