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Cell-imprinted substrates as biomimetic platforms for osteoarthritis modeling with mesenchymal stem cells
Hanieh Sadat Hashemi Motahar1, Mojtaba Tajbakhsh2, Mahboobeh Tavassoli3
1Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Introduction:
The objective of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the relationship between chondrocyte morphology and their own gene and protein expression profiles in healthy and osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage; and second, to assess whether replicating the morphology of OA chondrocytes (OACs) can induce a hypertrophic expression pattern in MSCs.
Methods:
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates were fabricated to replicate the morphologies of human OACs and healthy chondrocytes (HCs). MSCs were cultured on these imprinted substrates, and differentiation was assessed using real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, Alcian blue/Safranin O staining, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Results:
SEM and optical microscopy revealed that OACs had a larger surface area than HCs. Real-time PCR analysis showed morphology-dependent variations in the expression of cartilage- and OA-related markers, with statistically significant differences observed only for SOX9. Immunofluorescence analysis of collagen types I and II supported these findings, though visual inspection of the staining did not indicate any significant changes.
Conclusion:
The results show that OACs-imprinted substrates can be effectively combined with other methods to improve in vitro models of OA. This offers a useful tool for exploring disease mechanisms and potential therapies.
