Background
Concentrated growth factor (CGF) has been reported to be effective in bone formation or soft/hard tissue healing in recent years. Despite a few studies regarding the effects of CGF on the proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, their underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects and possible mechanisms of CGF on the proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation of rat-derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro.
Methods
CGF was extracted from the Sprague Dawley (SD) rats by venipuncture of the abdominal aortic vein, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the structural characterization. The release of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) from CGF was measured over the periods of 1 ~ 14 days, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent (Elisa) assay. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to measure cell proliferation. Migration capacity was analyzed using the transwell assay. The osteogenic differentiation and mineralization ability were determined by Alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) staining and Alizarin Red staining respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), was used to evaluate the mRNA expression levels of Runx2, Ocn, Smad1, and Smad5 after culture for 14 days. Further, the protein expression of BMP-2, phosphorylated-Smad1/5 (p-Smad1/5), and Smad1/5/8 was determined by Western blot after a 14-day cell culture.
Results
The SEM analysis showed a porous and dense three-dimensional fibrin network in CGF. The Elisa assay showed that BMP-2 was released from CGF extract for more than 14d, and it reached a peak at the time point of 5d. The cell densities of the CGF group at the different concentrations (5%, 10%, and 20%) were significantly higher than that of the control group at the periods of day 1 to day 5 (p < 0.05). Moreover, the number of migratory cells of the CGF group was greater than that of the control group at 24 h. ALP activity analysis and Alizarin Red staining results demonstrated that CGF may successfully induce osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Moreover, the RT-qPCR results showed that CGF extracts dramatically enhanced the mRNA expression levels of Runx2, Ocn, Smad1, and Smad5 in BMSCs at days 14 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Western blot results showed that CGF extracts markedly up-regulated the protein expression levels of BMP-2, p-Smad1/5, and Smad1/5/8.
Conclusions
CGF can promote the proliferation, migration, and promote the osteogenic differentiation potential of BMSCs in vitro. The BMP-2/Smad signaling pathway was involved in the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of BMSCs induced by CGF. Therefore, CGF has good application potential in tissue engineering for bone regeneration and repair.