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BMP-6 stimulates cartilage growth from stem cells to produce a 3-D scaffold
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A novel growth factor significantly improves the ability for specialized stem cells to transform into cartilage, according to a study by researchers in Durham, N.C., and reported in a news release.
Farshid Guilak, PhD, and colleagues at Duke University Medical Center and the Pratt School of Engineering, found that bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) significantly increased the production of two important biochemical markers of cartilage cell proliferation. They published their findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.
Specifically, human adipose-derived adult stem cells (hADAS) treated with BMP-6 increased the expression of aggrecan, a component of articular cartilage, by 205 times and increased the production of Type II collagen by 38 times, compared with cells without BMP-6 in the cocktail, according to the release.
“Our studies suggest that growing hADAS cells with BMP-6 could provide tissue that could be used to repair damaged cartilage,” Bradley Estes, a graduate student in Pratt’s department of bioengineering, said in a news release.
Cartilage damage is difficult to treat because the tissue lacks a blood supply, nerves and lymph. It also has limited capacity for repair, the researchers noted in the release.
Current strategies for treating cartilage damage, such as microfracture surgery or cartilage transplants, have been largely disappointing, according to the news release.
In the study, the researchers isolated hADAS cells from fat obtained during liposuction procedures. They exposed the cells to a “cocktail” of various growth factors intended to stimulate transformation into cartilage cells.
The cocktail included BMP-6, a naturally occurring protein involved in ossifying the soft ends of long bones that come into contact with cartilage.
Such growth factors are crucial to the bioengineering of tissues for human use because such cells need to be grown quickly and in large numbers to be practical, according to the news release.
In the experiment, using the BMP-6-containing cocktail, the hADAS cells were grown in tiny spheres of a complex carbohydrate known as alginate, which created a three-dimensional scaffold that helped promote cell differentiation into cartilage.
“We don’t currently have a satisfactory remedy for people who suffer a cartilage-damaging injury,” Guilak said. “There is a real need for a new approach to treating these injuries. We envision being able to remove a little bit of fat and then grow customized, three-dimensional pieces of cartilage that could be surgically implanted in the joint. One of the beauties of this system is that since the cells are from the same patients, there are no worries of adverse immune responses or disease transmission.”
For more information:
- Estes BT, Wu AW, Guilak F. Potent induction of chondrocytic differentiation of human adipose-derived adult stem cells by bone morphogenetic protein 6. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:122-1232.