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Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Isolation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and their Cultivation on the Porous Bone Matrix
Published on: February 9, 2015
Behaviour and ultrastructure of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells immobilised in
Noha Attia1, Edorta Santos, Hala Abdelmouty
1Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University , Alexandria , Egypt.
Context:
Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) show a great promise for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Despite the previous trials to encapsulate hBM-MSCs in alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate (APA) systems, the various changes that follow immobilisation have not been ascertained yet.
Objective:
Determine the various consequences derived from entrapment on cell behaviour, putting special emphasis on the ultrastructure.
Methods:
hBM-MSCs were immobilised in APA microcapsules to further characterise their viability, metabolic activity, proliferation, VEGF-secretability, and morphology.
Results:
The VEGF produced by monolayer hBM-MSCs increased significantly 1 d post-encapsulation, and was maintained for at least 4 weeks. TEM imaging of cells revealed well preserved ultrastructure indicating protein synthesis and high metabolic activity.
Conclusion:
Although APA microencapsulation did not support 100% of fully viable hBM-MSCs for long-term cultures, it was conceived to enhance both VEGF secretion and metabolic activity while not losing their stemness characteristics.
