Osteogenic differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells on fibrin glue- or fibronectin-coated Ceraform®

Natural and synthetic biomaterials have been designed to aid in the bone regeneration process. Although multiple stem cell-based biomaterials are currently studied by many researchers, no biomaterial has yet been approved as the most appropriate. Here, we aimed to use and compare alternative synthetic biphasic ceramic Ceraform® (CR) coated with the tissue adhesives fibrin glue (FG) and fibronectin (FN) seeded with osteogenically induced cells, which were previously differentiated from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal cells. The osteogenic properties were evaluated on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after cell seeding by histological examinations, determining enzyme activities and gene expressions of osteogenic markers, and scanning electron microscope analysis. Non-coated CR and FG-or FN-coated CR groups displayed all osteogenic differentiation markers, such as osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteopontin, Runt-related transcription factor-2, collagen type-1, and bone morphogenetic protein-2, but their distribution in terms of duration varied. The detection of non-collagenous proteins and collagen type-1 indicated the role of FG or FN in enhancing bone remodeling and bone structure stabilization. FG exhibited the advantage of encapsulating cells owing to its clot formation property compared to that by FN when considering the enhanced survival of transplanted cells. Moreover, the fibrin glue-coated CR group showed a distinct difference by expressing osteogenic markers even at the end of late incubation period. These properties indicated that using CR-FG in combination with differentiated cells is a promising alternative improved scaffold for bone repair by cell therapy.