Human Fibroblasts as a Model for the Study of Bone Disorders

Abstract

Bone tissue degeneration is an urgent clinical issue, making it a subject of intensive research. Chronic skeletal disease forms can be prevalent, such as the age-related osteoporosis, or rare, in the form of monogenetic bone disorders. A barrier in the understanding of the underlying pathological process is the lack of accessibility to relevant material. For this reason, cells of non-bone tissue are emerging as a suitable alternative for models of bone biology. Fibroblasts are highly suitable for this application; they populate accessible anatomical locations, such as the skin tissue. Reports suggesting their utility in preclinical models for the study of skeletal diseases are increasingly becoming available. The majority of these are based on the generation of an intermediate stem cell type, the induced pluripotent stem cells, which are subsequently directed to the osteogenic cell lineage. This intermediate stage is circumvented in transdifferentiation, the process regulating the direct conversion of fibroblasts to osteogenic cells, which is currently not well-explored. With this mini review, we aimed to give an overview of existing osteogenic transdifferentiation models and to inform about their applications in bone biology models.

Regulation of the integrin αVβ3- actin filaments axis in early osteogenesis of human fibroblasts under cyclic tensile stress

“…Further, differentiation of fibroblasts toward the osteoblast lineage was also demonstrated with treatment of osteoclast-conditioned media, and TGF-β was shown to improve the capacity of fibroblasts for osteogenic differentiation [ 11 , 12 ]. The similarities of fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells support the use of fibroblasts as an appropriate cell type to study osteogenesis [ 13 ]. When stem cells are in a microenvironment composed of biomaterials, growth factors and tissues, the appropriate mechanical stimuli can promote osteogenic differentiation of stem cells [ 14 ].…”

Synthesis and characterization of a collagen-based composite material containing selenium nanoparticles

“…Because of their differentiation plasticity, they are present throughout the human organism and perform many functions. 28,29 Fibroblast cell lines express a similar toxicity response as osteoblasts. 30 Among fibroblast lineages, the MRC-5 cell line is widely known and used.…”

Bone Reconstruction Using Two-Layer Porcine-Derived Bone Scaffold Composed of Cortical and Cancellous Bones in a Rabbit Calvarial Defect Model

“…Fibroblasts are known as mesenchymal cells that reside in mesenchymal stroma. In general, fibroblasts are involved in the formation of cell microstructures and regulate immunity and inflammatory responses in the recovery of damaged tissues [ 39 , 40 ]. They also exist in various tissues of the human body and have outstanding plasticity, and their differentiation ability is not much distinguished from MSC [ 41 ].…”