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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Technique for Isolation and Culture of Rat Jaw Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Published on: May 31, 2024
Sonic hedgehog promotes chondrogenesis of rabbit bone marrow stem cells in a rotary cell culture system
Liyang Chen1,2, Gejun Liu1,2, Wenjun Li1,2
1Department of Orthopaedics, Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200072, China.
Background:
Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is an important signalling protein involved in the induction of early cartilaginous differentiation. Herein, we demonstrate that Shh markedly induces chondrogenesis of rabbit bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) under microgravity conditions, and promotes cartilage regeneration.
Results:
In the rotary cell culture system (RCCS), chondrogenic differentiation was revealed by stronger Toluidine Blue and collagen II immunohistochemical staining in the Shh transfection group, and chondroinductive activity of Shh was equivalent to that of TGF-β. Western blotting and qRT-PCR analysis results verified the stronger expression of Sox9, aggrecan (ACAN), and collagen II in rabbit BMSCs treated with Shh or TGF-β in a microgravity environment. Low levels of chondrogenic hypertrophy, osteogenesis, and adipogenesis-related factors were detected in all groups. After transplantation in vivo, histological analysis revealed a significant improvement in cartilage and subchondral repair in the Shh transfection group.
Conclusions:
These results suggested that Shh signalling promoted chondrogenesis in rabbit BMSCs under microgravity conditions equivalent to TGF-β, and improved the early stages of the repair of cartilage and subchondral defects. Furthermore, RCCS provided a dynamic culture microenvironment conducive for cell proliferation, aggregation and differentiation.
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