The Osteogenic and Tenogenic Differentiation Potential of C3H10T1/2 (Mesenchymal Stem Cell Model) Cultured on PCL/PLA Electrospun Scaffolds in the Absence of Specific Differentiation Medium

Abstract

The differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) has been extensively tested on electrospun scaffolds. However, this potential is often assessed with lineage-specific medium, making it difficult to interpret the real contribution of the properties of the scaffold in the cell response. In this study, we analyzed the ability of different polycaprolactone/polylactic acid PCL/PLA electrospun scaffolds (pure or blended compositions, random or aligned fibers, various fiber diameters) to drive MSC towards bone or tendon lineages in the absence of specific differentiation medium. C3H10T1/2 cells (a mesenchymal stem cell model) were cultured on scaffolds for 96 h without differentiation factors. We performed a cross-analysis of the cell–scaffold interactions (spreading, organization, and specific gene expression) with mechanical (elasticity), morphological (porosity, fibers diameter and orientation) and surface (wettability) characterizations of the electrospun fibers. We concluded that (1) osteogenic differentiation can be initiated on pure PCL-based electrospun scaffolds without specific culture conditions; (2) fiber alignment modified cell organization in the short term and (3) PLA added to PCL with an increased fiber diameter encouraged the stem cells towards the tendon lineage without additional tenogenic factors. In summary, the differentiation potential of stem cells on adapted electrospun fibers could be achieved in factor-free medium, making possible future applications in clinically relevant situations.

Biomaterials in Tendon and Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering: Current Trends and Challenges

“…A murine pluripotent cell line, C3H10T1/2 is another relevant stem cell model [ 43 ] used in embryology and tendon repair studies [ 44 ], also employed by several teams in tendon engineering approaches [ 45 , 46 , 47 ].…”

“…There are a remarkable number of parameters that influence the structure of the final scaffold, such as the nature and concentration of the polymer and solvent, but also the form of the collector, conductivity, and displacement (static or rotating) [ 132 ]. The major materials that are employed in electrospinning techniques for further tendon engineering applications are polyhydroxyesters, such as PLLA [ 30 ], PLGA [ 105 ], or PCL [ 35 ] alone or combined [ 47 ], polyurethanes [ 45 , 46 ], and natural polymeric biomaterials, such as silk fibroin [ 133 , 134 ]. Generally, the fibers produced can thus be randomly deposited or aligned [ 30 , 46 , 47 , 105 ], flat, or three-dimensionally structured [ 35 , 135 ].…”

The combination of a poly‐caprolactone/nano‐hydroxyapatite honeycomb scaffold and mesenchymal stem cells promotes bone regeneration in rat calvarial defects

“…Researchers have reported that such structured electrospun polymer nanofibers can induce cell differentiation in vitro, which suggests that applications in bone tissue engineering are possible (Baudequin et al, 2017;Brennan et al, 2015). A study has demonstrated in vivo the bone generation capacity of electrospun composite scaffold containing PCL and nHA (Fu et al, 2012).…”

TGF–β3 Loaded Electrospun Polycaprolacton Fibre Scaffolds for Rotator Cuff Tear Repair: An in Vivo Study in Rats

“…PCL is biodegradable with slow degradation rates in vivo [23,24] and PCL-based materials for medical devices such as Capronor, a subdermal implant for long-term drug delivery [25] or drug delivery systems for glaucoma treatment [26] are already in clinical use or trial. Studies show that surface modification with fibronectin or blending with polylactide acid (PLA) improve cell attachment of endothelial cells or cell infiltration with trophoblast cells [27,28] as well as osteogenic and tenogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 pluripotent stem cells [29]. Furthermore, PCL-PLA and PCL-gelatine fibre mats seeded with mesenchymal stem cells showed high biocompatibility with viabilities higher than 82% after seven days as reported by Gryshkov and coworkers [30].…”